Security and Defensive Democracy in Israel: A Critical
Approach to Political Discourse
Sharon Weinblum
This book scrutinises how political actors in the
Israeli parliament (the Knesset) have articulated the security-democracy nexus
in their discourses.
Security crises expose political leaders to an
uncomfortable dilemma: guaranteeing the safety of citizens while at the same
time preserving democratic principles, basic rights and liberties. In this
respect, Israel represents an archetypical case. Defining itself as a
democracy, the state of Israel has been in quasi-constant conflict with its
neighbouring countries while facing terror attacks repeatedly. This situation
has resulted in the upholding of the state of emergency since the establishment
of the state in 1948 and in the enactment of security measures that are often
in conflict with democratic values.
The tension between security and democracy is not a
new question: it has been at the centre of political thought from Rousseau and
Locke to Lasswell and Dahl and stood at the core of political debates after
9/11 and the 2005 terror attacks in London. Many studies have questioned how
political actors manage this tension or how they could – properly – balance
security and democracy. Yet, in spite of the abundant literature on the issue,
the manner in which political actors conceptualise and frame this tension has
been rarely explored. Even less has been said on the effects of this
conceptualisation on the democratic regime.
Drawing on discourse theory and on an innovative
narrative analysis, the book examines 40 debates held in the Knesset on
security-oriented laws enacted in two different contexts: the period of
relative calm preceding the first Palestinian intifada (1987) and the period
following the eruption of the second intifada (2000). More specifically, three
types of laws and discussions are examined: laws establishing a relation
between freedom of expression and security; laws linking the category of 'the
enemy' to democracy; and finally those connecting the right to family
unification and residence of Palestinians with terrorism.
Through a comparative analysis of the political
actors’ discourses in 1985 and between 2000 and 2011, the study demonstrates
that two main narratives have constantly competed: on the one hand a marginal
narrative anchored in basic rights and on the other a defensive democracy
narrative, which has become dominant. The latter has legitimised the
restriction of freedom of expression, freedom to participate in elections,
freedom of movement or the right to citizenship. The book shows how the
increasing dominance of the defensive democracy narrative has had a fundamental
impact in reshaping the polity and the identity of Israel’s democratic regime.
The analysis ultimately opens the possibility to rethink the conventional
approach of the security-democracy dilemma and to reflect on processes in other
states, such as the United Kingdom or the United States during different
security crises.
This book will be of much interest to students of
critical security studies, Israeli politics, democracy studies, political
theory and IR in general.
