From Hegemonic Zionist Thought to Fragmented Ethnic Identity: The Political Demography of Israel

Abstract

This study examines Israel's ideological and identity transformation and the impact of demographic changes on ethnic and religious groups in politics and society. It analyzes the role of demographics in shaping state identity, influencing state authority, and the political consequences of population changes. In ethnically and religiously fragmented societies like Israel, even small demographic shifts play a decisive role in political dynamics. The study highlights that demographics were crucial in the decline of the secular-Zionist/Israeli hegemony, the rise of right-revisionist thought, and the current fragmented structure, illustrated through the example of Haredi, Israeli Arab, and Russian Jewish groups.