The Third Angle in Israel Studies

Relying on theoretical foundations and conceptualizations in the literature on government–Third Sector relations, this article examines the motives and outcomes that impacted the relations between voluntary non-governmental entities and government organs after the State of Israel was established. Using the typology primarily of Jennifer Coston, in addition to those of Dennis Young and Adil Nagam, the article concentrates on three case studies reflecting those relations: disabled veterans and demobilized soldiers, immigrant associations, and the Israel Education Fund. All three cases show that additional actors lay claim to matters undisputedly under the state’s responsibility. The relationships between these parties, we maintain, provide another angle to an understanding of mamlakhtiyut, the Israeli version of republicanism.

Behind Veterans’ Protests: Passive and Piecemeal Policy-Making in China

Veterans have become one of China’s largest and most vocal protest groups. Studies on the country’s veterans have focused on their grievances and have identified these individuals as “unlucky” victims of economic reforms who suffer because of the state’s inadequate attention and local governments’ poor policy implementation. However, this article argues that the difficulties veterans face are the product of piecemeal policies adopted by central authorities. These policies have been inherited from the Maoist era’s principle of local resettlement of demobilized soldiers. Local governments have tried to reduce the heavy burden this resettlement policy imposes on them. Drawing on a review of a large number of policy documents, as well as interviews with dozens of veterans, this article presents a comprehensive picture of the resettlement system and the way piecemeal reforms have spurred various forms of unrest among veterans. It also shows that the differential treatment of various veteran groups in similar situations, as a result of the fragmented system and accumulated policy changes, has exacerbated veterans’ grievances. Finally, the article explores the conundrum of reforming the resettlement system. While the local resettlement of veterans is guaranteed and remains a cornerstone of civil/party-military relations, it has become impossible for the government to locally resettle all veterans. The resettlement system’s internal fragmentation also allows different authorities to shirk responsibility and eventually puts the burden on the veterans themselves. The elusive reforms proposed by the current leadership are unlikely to resolve these tensions.

Demobilised Soldiers, Small Holdings Colonies and the Compulsory Acquisition of Land after World War One: Scotland and Canada

This article compares the Small Holdings Colonies Acts (1916 and 1918) for demobilized WWI soldiers in Britain upon which the Land Settlement (Scotland) Act of 1919 was established; and similar small holdings colonies for demobilized soldiers in Canada with a particular focus on provisions for the state to engage in compulsory acquisition of land for this purpose. My research shows in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, colonies and compulsory acquisition of land under the 1919 Act were part of a larger land reform movement (breaking up large estates) and represent progressive advances for traditional occupants – the crofters and tenant farmers – to have rights over their own lands. In Canada, on the other hand, domestic colonies for British soldiers served to displace indigenous peoples from their reserves already vastly diminished compared to traditional territories. The compulsory acquisition of land through surrenders from reserves compounded the problem. As such colonies in Canada had negative impacts on indigenous peoples as part of an ongoing settler colonization process. Thus I show that small holdings colonies particularly when combined with compulsory acquisition of land work in opposite directions normatively and materially in each country.

Adaptation of Demobilized Soldiers and the Problem of their Employment in Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic during the First Postwar Years

In connection with the increase in military conflicts and the deterioration of the geopolitical situation in the world, the study of the history of the Eastern Front of World War II and its consequences is more relevant than ever. In the first postwar years it was a difficult task for the state to solve the problems of front-line soldiers with employment and material conditions. The adaptation of demobilized soldiers was primarily associated with the economic and political state of the country. The paper examines the issues of adaptation and employment of demo-bilized soldiers of Bashkiria during the first postwar years. The author pays attention to then-existing problems and measures taken by the Soviet bodies of the republic. The postwar life of front-line soldiers of Bashkiria during the first postwar years has both great scientific and social significance. In the course of the study, the features of the postwar situation in the country as a whole and in the republic were studied, which determined the conditions for the adaptation of front-line soldiers and its results.

Group stereotypes and symbols of overcoming difficult social situations in the image of small groups

Introduction. Sometimes a person meets with complex social situations. How a person lives these situations down? What is the experience that supports and drives a person to recovery? How does the group help for a person in this? These questions now arise for each of us, because there is no person in the world who would have had the experience of living in complex social situations Purpose. The purpose of the article is to describe the results of the study of group stereotypes and the symbolism of complex social situations in small groups of different directions. Methodology. The sample of empirical research is 132 individuals - 16 groups of different directions: therapeutic (2), educational (7) and crisis (5) (real groups that were in situations of conflict and crisis) and self-help groups (2). Self-help groups are a group of families of demobilized soldiers (heterogeneous) and a group of veterans. The empirical study was conducted in 2 stages. In the first stage, the questionnaire “I am in the group” was prepared and tested. It consists of 21 questions and demographic data of the respondents (age, gender). In the second stage of the empirical study, the seminar “Difficult Social Situations: Experiences of Living and Overcoming” was conducted in the study groups, followed by a survey of respondents. The duration of the seminar is 3-4 hours, depending on the needs of the group Results. The article presents the results of an empirical study of group stereotypes and symbols in the image of small groups in complex social situations. The research identified stereotypical perceptions of the group and overcoming difficult social situations, outlined by the author as external and intra-group stereotypes. External group stereotypes include the destructive, relatively destructive, conditionally constructive and constructive groups of stereotypes described by the respondents. The groups of stereotypes pertaining to external groups are described in detail: relatively destructive (Uniqueness, Closeness and Complexity) and conditionally constructive (Causality and Willingness). Intra-group stereotypes are indicated too. Also, the article highlights a number of group symbols and group processes highlighted by the respondents, describes the analysis of the results of the “Symbolization of experience” methodology. Typization of symbolization of complex social situations and ways of overcoming them is presented. The symbols of this process are determined by the respondents by those symbols that demonstrate the dynamics (or transformation) of the character itself, the dynamics of the plot development, and the abstract ones, which have internal, not obvious, outside logic. Examples of these characters are described. Conclusion. The analysis of the results of the study showed that group stereotypes play a key role in predicting strategies for overcoming difficult social situations, and symbolizing this process helps to find support and help, both within and outside the group

РЕІНТЕГРАЦІЯ ВИМУШЕНИХ ПЕРЕСЕЛЕНЦІВ ТА ДЕМОБІЛІЗОВАНИХ ВІЙСЬКОВОСЛУЖБОВЦІВ ІЗ ЗОНИ ООС (АТО)

The paper provides insights to the issues of ongoing United Forces Operation (UFO) (formerly ATO) in Ukraine which resulted in a complicated military, political and socioeconomic situation, in particular in bringing the ethno-territorial tension in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with a large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) tracked in the country (over 1,500,000 persons) as well as demobilized and wounded in a military operations zone soldiers (about 80 000). Promoting employment and self-employment of economically active population will contribute to resolve contemporary painful socioeconomic problems, improve the situation on the labour market, reduce social tension etc. The research objective is the development of theoretical positions to provide rationale to an effective algorithm for reintegration of internally displaced persons and demobilized soldiers from the UFO (ATO) zone. The study employed the following research methods: a method of expert survey to diagnose the needs and demands of job seekers (IDPs and demobilized soldiers from the UFO (ATO) zone); a method of system analysis and logical generalization – to explore and identify the role of symbiosis of innovations in the fields of entrepreneurship and training for the demobilized from the UFO (ATO) zone; a critical thinking method – to elaborate a development framework and prospects for implementing social innovations in the areas of entrepreneurship and education; a matrix method – to identify the major components of reintegration programmes for IDPs and the demobilized from the UFO (ATO) zone. The findings suggest that multivariate combinations of the above components in the system of reintegration of IDPs and demobilized from the UFO (ATO) zone will allow to develop an effective instrument in the context of adaptation of socially vulnerable groups. Building conceptual principles for the IDPs and UFO (ATO) veterans’ adaptation algorithm based on the synergistic combination of all components of the proposed reintegration programme will ensure an integrated approach to solving the burning socioeconomic problems of adaptation of socially vulnerable population.

Rörlig kunskap och flyttbara färdigheter – skolad arbetskraft vid fästningsbygget Sveaborg på 1750-talet

Mobile knowledge and transferable skills: The construction of Sveaborg Fortress by a skilled workforce in the 1750s.In the international debate about whether military investment can lead to economic growth, one of the key arguments has been the transfer of knowledge from the military to civil society. The construction of the sea fortress of Sveaborg (Suomenlinna) just off the coast of Helsinki in mid-eighteenth-century Finland provides a good example of this transfer. This huge military investment took place in peacetime and centred mainly on trade related to construction and shipbuilding, the very commerce that was also highly desirable for civil society. The army had to find its own construction solutions, most notably brickwork that used new techniques, and these innovations were later adopted by civilian entrepreneurs. The army also brought in skilled craftsmen to Helsinki, who, due to their limited number, also helped train soldiers in different skills. After working on Sveaborg, some of these craftsmen moved over to civilian employers or settled down in Helsinki as burghers. Similarly, demobilized soldiers returned home, taking their acquired skills with them. Between the army and civil society, therefore, there was a constant interaction and mutual exchange of knowledge and technology.