This article examines the connection between masculine identity and avoidance of military service in a militaristic society. Based on retrospective interviews with Israeli middle‐class men who initiated their release from military service on medical–psychological grounds, we argue that this choice embodies resistance to patterns identified with the local hegemonic masculinity and that this resistance gradually intensifies over the life course. The first signs of opposition emerge in early adolescence, when the perception of self diverges from the conventional masculine mold. The emotionally charged encounter with the military deepens this resistance, which is then reinforced by the decision not to serve, and ultimately leads to the construction of the present nonconformist identity. The development of a nonconformist self that is not subject to the dictates of the local hegemonic masculinity demonstrates how in a militaristic society, even a personal decision not to serve becomes an act rife with gendered meanings and political significance.

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Design in the Middle gathered together, for the first time, a group of designers and architects from around the Middle East/Euro-Med region in an extraterritorial place where they could engage in dialogue and perform collaborative processes over the course of one week. Working in five transdisciplinary groups, they generated alternative near-future scripts and design proposals to address challenges relevant to the Middle East, such as borders, religious diversity, migration, water and food sources. To enable large-scale collaborative teamwork, the project's design curators, two educators from the Middle East, applied an experimental methodological approach they coined "Problem Probing," a composite toolbox carefully incorporating diverse design practices and mentalities. The paper will present the composition of the first workshop, elaborate on the project's methodological and theoretical framework, and discuss its contribution to our future thinking about the socio-political role that design can claim as an instigator of public discussion outside the design realm.