Breaking the Mould of the Orthodox Approach to Security Sector Reform: A Case Study of Israel’s Civil-Military Relationship

Abstract

Post-conflict Security Sector Reform (SSR) is a complex and difficult task which offers few historical examples of success. The challenges that SSR encounters are compounded by the western liberal democratic origins of the majority of the civil-military relations (CMR) theory from which it draws. By their nature, these theories are ill-suited to most post-conflict scenarios. This thesis offers a new perspective on the problem by suggesting that the use of elements of other less orthodox, but nonetheless still democratic, models of CMR would help SSR programmers to develop more appropriate objectives. It further argues that the Israeli system of CMR is an example of one such model. Using a critical realist approach, the thesis presents a single case study to investigate the research question: How has Israel’s CMR evolved since the state was founded in 1948? It employs thematic analysis to evaluate data obtained from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with influential Israeli elites. From this, three ‘Big Ideas’ are identified. If adopted, these could help to break the mould of the previously unfruitful, orthodox approaches to post-conflict SSR. They are: first, that culture and history must impact the design of all SSR programmes from the very start; second, that more flexibility must be shown regarding military involvement in defence policy-making; third, that if the benefits of more unorthodox approaches to SSR are to be realised, clear provision must also be made for the system to adapt over time. The lens of critical realism brings a fresh perspective to the hitherto well documented subject of Israel's civil-military relationship, and the development of a novel analytical framework (CIPMIS) contributes to the wider body of knowledge in this field. Most significantly, analysis of this unique interview dataset enables the Israeli experience, for the first time, to directly inform understanding of post-conflict SSR.