The Cost of Vigilance in Israel

Linking the Economic and Social Costs of Defense

Bibliographic Data

ID3917725
AuthorsOfira Seliktar (University of Haifa, Israel and Texas A&M University, corresponding author)
Year1980
Volume17
Issue4
Pages339-355
Publication date1980-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/002234338001700405
OpenAlexW2168993665
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited19

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent of the gun-butter tradeoff in Israel and to assess the level of public support for such a tradeoff. It was found that the extent of the gun-butter tradeoff is very considerable, both in terms of direct cuts in social and welfare spending and the less direct losses in opportunity costs. Because of the 'self-defense' nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it has often been argued that Israeli public support for such a tradeoff is continuously high. However, an analysis of the demands articulated by Israeli protest movements reveals that there are important limitations on the level and direction of popular support for the tradeoff. First, social protest groups have increasingly criticized the tradeoff and demanded a reallocation of resources to reflect more closely the social rather than the military need of the country. Second, the Peace Movement groups have undermined the 'package deal' perception of the defense budget, introducing the notion that part of the defense spending, especially on the West Bank, is somewhat of a 'colonial' burden rather than a legimate 'self-defense' expenditure

Business · Computer security · Economics · Market economy · Microeconomics · Perception · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public economics · Public opinion · Social cost · Social Welfare · Vigilance (psychology) · Welfare · Computer Science · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies · Law · Military and Defense Studies · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology

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