The Role of Parties in Israeli Democracy

From the “Socialist-Collectivistic” Welfare State to “McIsrael”: The Evolution of the Israeli Welfare State

“…With the exclusion of the pre-state period, the leader of the left-wing Mapai party was the head of all Israeli governments until 1977 (see Table 1). In his attempt to diagnose the sources of Mapai's dominance in Israel, Benjamin Akzin (1955) pointed out two essential factors that had a bearing on this phenomenon. First, the social role of the party characteristic of the Zionist pre-state period became the norm.…”

“…Mapai's dominance stemmed not only from the social prevalence of pioneering values associated with the party, but also from the Israelis' acknowledgement of the party's special role and its identification with the creation of the Jewish state. Public opinion's recognition of Mapai's principal role in the Zionist process of Israel's creation had a bearing on the perception of the party's special function in the political system (Akzin, 1955). The stability of the system dominated by the Zionist left derived from the voters' ideological attitudes shaped during the pre-state period and from the authority of outstanding party members.…”

The Israeli Third Sector

“…While a number of leading veteran political scientists (e.g., Akzin, 1955;Elazar, 1986;Arian, 1972) have focused on the structural properties of the democratic regime in Israel (e.g., the major branches of the governm ent , the free and open elections every four years, the multipl e party system, the independence of the judicial branch), Galnoor (1982 ) argues that up until the mid-19 60s a participatory democracy in Israel was lacking. While a number of leading veteran political scientists (e.g., Akzin, 1955;Elazar, 1986;Arian, 1972) have focused on the structural properties of the democratic regime in Israel (e.g., the major branches of the governm ent , the free and open elections every four years, the multipl e party system, the independence of the judicial branch), Galnoor (1982 ) argues that up until the mid-19 60s a participatory democracy in Israel was lacking.…”

Interest Groups and Bureaucrats in a Party‐democracy: The Case of Israel

“…All leading Israeli political scientists (Akzin 1955;Gutmann 1w7;Galnoor 1982; A h n 1989) unanimously agree that Israel has been a party-state in which effective political power is heavily concentrated in the hands of political parties. Party democracy is distinguished from other forms of constitutional democracy by the presence of the five following characteristics.…”