The Contradictions of Israeli Citizenship (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)

This book provides an integrated analysis of the complex nature of citizenship in Israel. Contributions from leading social and political theorists explore different aspects of citizenship through the demands and struggles of minority groups to provide a comprehensive picture of the dynamics of Israeli citizenship and the dilemmas that emerge at the collective and individual levels.

Considering the many complex layers of membership in the state of Israel including gender, ethnicity and religion, the book identifies and explores processes of inclusion and exclusion that are general issues in any modern polity with a highly diverse civil society. While the focus is unambiguously on modern Israel, the interpretations of citizenship are relevant to many other modern societies that face similar contradictory tendencies in membership. As such, the book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science, political sociology and law.

Guy Ben-Porat is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Policy and Administration, Ben-Gurion University. He has written widely on Israel and conflict resolution, and his research focuses on conflict resolution, ethnic relations, globalization, public policy and multiculturalism.

Bryan S. Turner is Presidential Professor in the Ph.D. Program in Sociology at the City University of New York's Graduate Center and Professor of Social and Political Thought at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. One of the world's leading sociologists of religion, he has also devoted significant attention to sociological theory, the study of human rights, and the sociology of the body.