Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Israel

This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary Israel, accounting for changes, developments and contemporary debates. The different chapters offer both a historical background and an updated analysis of politics, economy, society and culture.

Across 6 sections, a multi-disciplinary group of experts, including sociologists, political scientists, historians and social scientists, engage in a wide variety of topics through different perspectives and insights. The book opens with a historical section outlining the formation of Israel and Jewish nationalism. The second section examines contemporary institutions in Israel, their developments and the contemporary challenges they face in light of social, economic, political and cultural changes. The third section explores geopolitics and Israel's "external relations", namely conflicts, alliances and foreign policy with neighbours and powers. The fourth section engages with Israel's diversity, multiculturalism and schisms, outlining processes of integration, marginalization and inequalities between groups. The fifth section addresses different aspect of political economy, including the welfare state, globalization, and educational gaps. The final section explores questions of civil society, identity and culture, including relations between majority and minority cultures, religious and secular identities, struggles for inclusion and the impact of globalization on Israeli culture.

The Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Israel is designed for academics along with undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses on Israel, Israeli politics, and culture and society in modern Israel.