Israel and its Army: From Cohesion to Confusion Stuart A. Cohen The Israel Defense Force (IDF) plays a key role in Israeli society, and has traditionally been regarded not only as the guardian of national survival, but also as a 'people's army' responsible for the custody of national values. This volume analyses the circumstances currently undermining those perceptions, and explores both the changes occurring in Israel's military framework, and their potential implications. The book highlights the influence exerted on relations between Israelis and their army by massive shifts in the country's domestic and cultural environments as well as transformations in the external strategic landscape. It argues that these changes, besides compelling the IDF to undertake major programmes of structural reform and doctrinal revision, have also stimulated unprecedented critical public scrutiny of the armed forces and their conduct. The way in which the resultant tensions are resolved is of crucial importance not only for Israel, but for the Middle East as a whole. This book will be of considerable interest to students of Politics and International Relations, Middle East Studies and Military Studies. Stuart A. Cohen is Professor of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and Senior Research Associate of the BESA (Begin-Sadat) Center for Strategic Studies.