Emotional state theory : friendship and fear in Israeli foreign policy / Christopher L. Schilling.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schilling, Christopher L., 1983- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

State, The--Psychological aspects.

State, The.

International relations.

Philosophy.

Israel--Foreign relations--Philosophy.

Israel.

International relations--Psychological aspects.

Physical Description:

xxii, 129 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham ; Boulder ; New York ; London : Lexington Books, [2015]

Summary:

Emotional State Theory: Friendship and Fear in Israeli Foreign Policy develops the idea of "emotional state theory" as a new contribution to international relations theory by comparing the state of Israel to the rest of the world. The rationale for this research perspective stems from the founding of Israel in May 1948 to the present. This trajectory reflects the trauma of the past and dreams about the future. Both contribute decisively to a better understanding of the current image and position of the state of Israel. The reference builds on two great Jewish thinkers' works: Theodor Herzl's The Jewish State and Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams. Taken together, their ideas shed light on and offer an explanation for Israel's troubled and uncertain position in current international relations. The resulting question underlying this work is therefore "whether Israel is still in a process of dreaming" and whether it is therefore to he understood as a "state which has not yet woken from the trauma of the Jewish past. Not a dream's fulfilment of an end of the Diaspora, but a nightmare based on this experience." Drawing on these two parallel and influential texts, Schilling rephrases the leading questions of this book: Has Israel developed an understanding of itself that sees the country as a modern state among neighboring nations or does it view itself as a ghetto that is still surrounded by a hostile world? Has Israel become a strong, self-confident country, or has it continued with the nervousness of the Diaspora Jews to become what this book describes as a state with an emotional problem? Book jacket.

Contents:

Theoretical framework

Methodological strategy

Jewish identity constructions in Israel

Israeli foreign policy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781498505840

1498505848

OCLC:

898273562