Rethinking Contemporary Warfare

Eyal 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.

"…this study is indeed unique in documenting and analyzing the actual experience of ground troops fighting a low-intensity, messy, local war, and as such it is an interesting read for military sociologists who seek to expand their knowledge on the challenges facing industrial democracies that fight irregular wars." — Review of Middle East Studies

• Acknowledgments1. Introduction2. Methodology, Analysis, Positioning3. Schoolbook Wars—Textbook Units4. War on the Frontier: A Hybrid Conflict?5. The IDF Reacts: Loose Coupling, In-between Organizations, and Organizational Adaptation 6. Swift Trust, Speedy Organizing: Cohesion and Modularity in Military Operations7. "Tactical Bubbles," "Civilian Seductions," and "Three-Block Warfare": The Military, the City, and Urban Combat 8. The Sociology and Psychology of Contemporary Urban Warfare 9. Technology, Gender, and New Combat Roles: Forces along the Separation Barrier10."Human Rights," "Precision Warfare," and Violence: Minimizing Casualties and the Al-Aqsa Intifada 11.Conclusion: Social Science, Textbook Units, and the Realities of Contemporary Combat ReferencesIndex