This book examines the 2022 Israeli Knesset elections through various theoretical perspectives and diverse research designs and data sources.
This government, the most radically right-wing in Israel’s history, attempted, in the following year, to undermine Israel's liberal democracy, and has led the country through the October 7 Hamas attack and the war in the Gaza Strip. The book is written by leading scholars of Israeli politics and analyses the 2022 elections in two parts. The first part examines various aspects of Israeli democracy related to the elections. These include ideological and affective polarization, ideological divisions, voter turnout, involvement of citizens and civil organizations in election campaigns, the nature of the government that was established following the 2022 elections, and political personalization. The second part of the book presents studies of parties that participated in these elections: those that declined (Labor), those that ascended (Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit), and those that ascertained their power (United Torah Judaism and Shas).
A valuable addition to the Elections in Israel series, the book touches on key themes, including political personalization, polarization, populism, the radical right, party decline and adaptation, and democratic backsliding. It will be of particular interest to students and researchers of Israeli politics and society, political science, and communications.