Looking for meaning: lessons from Mossad’s failed adaptation to the post-Cold War era, 1991–2013

Abstract

The end of the Cold War ushered in a new era in which Western intelligence establishments needed to reform and adapt to the new security environment of the twenty-first century. The Israeli foreign intelligence service (Mossad) offers a unique case study of operational and organisational adaptation. During the Cold War the organisation enjoyed many successes, but also some setbacks. However the post-Cold War security environment, which was characterised by reconciliation processes and an expanding variety of asymmetric and non-conventional threats, was a catalyst for reform inside Mossad. The article has two goals: first it will investigate the utility of Amy Zegart’s conceptual framework of intelligence adaptability and internally driven adaptation. Second, it will review Mossad’s efforts to adapt. The article will demonstrate that despite reforms that have taken place over the past two decades, not much progress has been achieved.