Rethinking Contemporary Warfare

Examines the combat experience of Israel's ground forces in the Al-Aqsa Intifada in order to offer a set of innovative concepts for understanding irregular warfare.The combat experience of Israel's ground forces in the second Palestinian uprising, the Al-Aqsa Intifada (2000-2006), is given full critical attention in this engaging study. Based on extensive interviews and observations, Rethinking Contemporary Warfare explores the ongoing debate about how the armed forces of industrial democracies wage contemporary military operations. Irregular warfare presents challenges, as routine activities can suddenly turn into violent action, forcing military forces to quickly adapt under the changing circumstances of the conflict. Such new wars are a messy reality consisting of high and low intensity conflict, the involvement of media and human rights movements, and the martial administration of civilian populations. Exploring the broad social and organizational features of these militaries, this volume sets forth new analytical tools to understand the peculiarities of irregular warfare in the post-Cold War era. These critical concepts include loose coupling between units, organizations that mediate between ground forces and civilian environments, and the militarization of civilian environments in urban warfareEyal Ben-Ari is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the coeditor (with Edna Lomsky-Feder) of The Military and Militarism in Israeli Society, also published by SUNY Press Zeev Lerer was formerly Head of Research to the Chief of Staff Advisor on Gender Issues of the Israeli Defense Forces. Uzi Ben-Shalom is Head of Research for the Military Psychology Center at the Ground Forces Command, Israeli Defense Forces, and Ariel Vainer is Military Psychologist at the Ground Forces Command, Israeli Defense Forces.