Israel's Death Hierarchy

Yagil Levy is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication at the Open University of Israel. His recent books include Israel's Materialist Militarism, Israel since 1980, and Who Governs the Military? Between Control of the Military and Control of Militarism.

• List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Preface from the Series Editor Wayne E. Lee Introduction The Right to Protect and the Right to Protection The Essence of Rights Balancing Strategies Conclusions Unbalancing and Balancing the Rights Balanced Rights Unbalanced Rights Demands for Burden Reduction The Subversive Bereavement Discourse Balancing Strategies Conclusions Bereavement-Motivated Collective Actors The South Lebanon Guerrilla War (1985-2000)Explaining Four Mothers' Success The Al-Aqsa Intifada (2000-2005) The Second Lebanon War (2006) and Operation Cast Lead (2009) Conclusions Bereavement-Motivated Collective ActorsGold Star Families for Peace Alternative Explanations Theoretical Conclusions The Death Hierarchy The Principles of the Death HierarchyThe Structure of the Death Hierarchy Conclusions Casualty Sensitivity Breeds High Lethality The Essence of the Force-Casualty Tradeoff Israel's Wars against Gaza: A General Outline The Tradeoff Conclusions and Theoretical Implications Casualty Sensitivity and Political-Military Relations Civilian Control of the IDF: General Background Casualty Sensitivity Reinforces the Military Conclusions and Theoretical Implications Conclusions Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

Levy has done an outstanding job with this book by his extensive and intensive review of materials relevant to the theme of this book, and his careful elucidation of related issues. (BIZ INDIA) This is a thought-provoking book. - David Benjamin,Advocate/Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) IDF; Dir. of SILS (Security and International Law Specialists Yagil Levy provides powerful contribution to the debate about the degree to which liberal democracies are & casualty sensitive. With his concept of & death hierarchy he reflects on whether these states tend to favor their soldiers' lives over those of enemy civilians and how far this is explained by the declining motivation among their own privileged groups to sacrifice their lives in the military. Although focused on the case of Israel, the argument encompasses other cases and will appeal to scholars of & casualty aversion on both sides of the Atlantic. - Christopher Dandeker,Co-Director, King's Centre for Military Health Research Asuperb analysis of the relationship between the changing social structure in Israel, the makeup of its military, and the resulting strategic posture. It is unique in that it explores these relationships through the analysis of the social and economic characteristics of the casualties in Israels limited conflicts with the Palestinians and with Lebanon. It also blends sociological and political theories of civil-military relations in a manner that is insightful and thought-provoking. Anyone who is interested in societal-military relations and in Israeli society and politics should put this book on top of their reading list. - Zeev Maoz,Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of California, Davis Levy effectively blends theory and case analysis to explore the underlying social dynamics that influence how society responds to the threats and perils of war. In so doing he bridges the wide gap between IR/Political Science and Sociology. - Patricia M. Shields,Texas State University