Moodle.UP

General: This course offers some intellectual avenues for understanding the dilemmas in managing the democratic state in modern nations, with a focus on the Israeli case. Beyond theoretical background on the dilemma of democracy and bureaucracy, we will analyze Israels’ public policy, administration, and management over the years and across services and cases. Our discussion will include historical background of turning the old Yishuv into a state between the early 1900s and 1948. These are followed by a review of major stages in developing modern nations in general, and specifically Israel since the early 1950s and until today. The path towards building Israel as nation will be explored and criticized with examples of taking difficult policy decisions under complex constraints of time, region, and conflict. While discussing the main challenges facing many modern democracies of our times, especially in turbulent times and under crises, we will examine the Israeli case and its complexity (e.g., demographically, politically, socially, and culturally). The course aims to discuss relevant issues related with the management of the Israeli governance and struggling the tension for building a modern democratic society. We will highlight the difficulties related with policy making process, the implementation of public policy under great challenges such as the Aliya (Jews immigration to Israel), the economic development over the years, reforms and technology changes, national security problems, and Israel’s future as an open democracy in the digital era and in view of the current struggle over suggested judiciary reforms.