State Authority in the Balance
The Israeli State and the Messianic Settler Movement
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23213403 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Barak Mendelsohn (Haverford College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 499-521 |
| Publication date | 2014-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Studies Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1468-2486 • E-ISSN: 1521-9488 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/misr.12159 |
| OpenAlex | W2070892640 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 46 |
Why do states allow and even encourage extremist nonstate actors to intervene in an international conflict in violation of domestic and international law, as well as state interests? Why do states fail subsequently to rein in these actors as the counterproductive consequences of their actions become apparent? This article explores one case of such puzzling state behavior, Israel's relationship with the messianic settler movement. The movement is challenging the state, and its actions regarding the territories Israel captured in 1967 have complicated efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Yet, not only have successive Israeli governments declined to enforce the authority of the state, they have pandered to the extremists. Supporting the messianic right has not offered Israel significant strategic benefits. In fact, it has backfired by intensifying the conflict with the Palestinians, weakening Israel's international standing, and undercutting state authority domestically. The article calls for supplementing a rationalist perspective that focuses on states' cost-benefit calculation with ideational factors. It proposes that the manipulation of symbols by the messianic right strengthened an ongoing process of state penetration, undermining the state's ability to utilize its power to its full extent, while increasing the messianics' influence far beyond the movement's material capabilities.
Balance (ability) · International law · Law and economics · Movement (music) · Political economy · Political science · Power (physics) · Sociology · State (computer science) · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology
National Interests in International Society
Between Peace and War
The Persistent Power of Human Rights
Rebels without Borders
Proxy Warriors
The culture of national security
The Expansion of international society
Norms in International Relations
Quasi-States
Cultural Norms and National Security
The Theory of International Relations
Foreign Policy in a Constructed World
The Triumph of Israel’s Radical Right
The Return of Culture and Identity in IR Theory
Corporate Warriors
Deadly Connections
The Settlers
The Anarchical Society
The Power of Human Rights
Agents of Destruction? Applying Principal-Agent Analysis to State-Sponsored Terrorism
The Israeli Military
Jewish Settler Violence
U.S. Strategy in a Transitioning Middle East
Frontiers and Ghettos
Brother against Brother
Myths of Empire
Why Comply? Social Learning and European Identity Change
The Constructive Turn in International Relations Theory
Fighting at Home, Fighting Abroad
Diplomacy and domestic politics
Religious—Nationalist Mobilization and State Penetration
Private Security and Democracy
Twisting Tongues and Twisting Arms
Seizing the Middle Ground
Culture, Strategy and Foreign Policy Change
The Anarchical Society
World Society and the Nation-State
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2022 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |