Democracy in Israel: Are There Any Reasons for Concern?

Abstract

The author examines the current state of democratic governance in the State of Israel. The research focuses on the changes that have taken place in the party and civil environment of the state in the last decade, as well as their impact on Israeli democracy. It also reveals the negative impact of the right-wing nature of the ruling elite on the liberal side of Israeli democratic rule. The paper states the decline of democracy in various regions of the world, in the State of Israel, which is considered the only democratic country in the Middle East. Based on this, the author examines the current state of democratic governance in Israel. The research focuses on the changes that have occurred in the party and civil environment of the state in the last decade, as well as their impact on Israeli democracy. There is a tendency towards the growth of right-wing sentiments both within the political elite and the Israeli society itself, which is the result of a long-term transformation of the political landscape of Israel and is closely related to the security issue. In addition, other reasons for the rise of right-wing sentiments are given, namely: the peculiarities of Israel’s demographic development, the failure of the peace process with the Palestinians, the changing role of religious parties in election campaigns, etc. The paper analyzes several government laws, as well as already approved laws of a legal nature: the boycott law, the Nakba Law, the law on ‘transparency,’ the law on the nation state. The recent legislative initiative of the newly elected Israeli government to limit the powers and role of the Supreme Court is subjected to a separate analysis: the reasons for the nomination of the law are revealed, its main provisions are given, possible consequences of the adoption of this law are established and their assessment in the context of the emerging democratic crisis in Israel. As a result of the above, the negative impact of the right-wing nature of the ruling elite on the liberal side of Israeli democratic rule is revealed. Two key vectors of the current government’s anti-liberal policy have been identified: firstly, changing the system of checks-and-balances within which institutions now function in favor of the political majority principle; secondly, the principles of ethno-nationalism as the basis of all spheres of Israeli society in the long term. In conclusion, the author gives forecasts of the further development of the processes considered in the work in case of preservation and further deepening of the current internal political course of the Government of Israel.