The Elections in Israel, 2019–2021

Description

The 16th book in The Elections in Israel series, this book covers an extraordinary political event of having four national elections in two years, which were much (but not all) about one person, "King Bibi." Analyzing Israel’s national elections from 2019 to 2021, this book argues the four elections became, to a large extent, a referendum on Benjamin Netanyahu, the incumbent prime minister and head of the Likud party, facing investigations, a hearing, and indictment on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Thus, the first part of the book is dedicated to political personalization and to Netanyahu himself. The second part of the volume covers the traditional actors in parliamentary elections: voters, parties, and the mass media. The book relies on empirical analysis, including extensive use of the Israel National Election Studies data; on theoretical rigor; and on the contextualization of the elections from comparative and long-term perspectives. The book should interest students and researchers of Israeli politics and society, electoral studies, and the crisis of democracy more generally. Many chapters will be of interest to political science, communications and sociology students and scholars who study themes that are prominent on the academic and public agenda including political personalization and personalized politics, populism, party decline, and democratic backsliding. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Contributors Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Four Elections in Two Years: A Unique Crisis Or a Sign of Things to Come? 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Explanations for the Crisis: Why Were Four Elections Held in Two Years? 1.3 Participation, Competition, and Voting in the Four Elections 1.4 Party Decline, Personalization, and the Party System 1.5 Institutional Reform: The Rotation Government and the “Norwegian Law” 1.6 The 2019–2021 Elections and the Crisis of Democracy in Israel 1.7 Conclusion Notes References 2 The Four Elections 2019–2021: A Chronological Overview 2.1 The Elections to the 21st Knesset, April 9, 2019 2.2 The Elections to the 22nd Knesset, September 17, 2019 2.3 The Elections to the 23rd Knesset, March 2, 2020 2.4 The Elections to the 24th Knesset, March 23, 2021 Notes References Part 1 Personalization in the Israeli “Parteienstaat” 3 Personalization and Personalism in the 2019–2021 Elections: Another Climax of Personal Politics? 3.1 Conceptualization, Research Question, and Hypothesis 3.2 Methodology 3.2.1 The Institutional Arena 3.2.2 The Media Arena 3.2.3 The Behavioral Arena 3.3 Findings: A New Highpoint in Personal Politics 3.3.1 Institutional Personalization and Personalism 3.3.2 Personalism in the Media 3.3.3 Behavioral Personalization and Personalism 3.4 Summary and Conclusions Notes References 4 King Bibi: The Personification of Democratic Values in the 2019–2021 Election Cycle 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Public Support for Democracy – Israel From a Global Perspective 4.3 Personification of Democratic Values 4.4 Hypotheses 4.5 Data and Measurement 4.6 Analysis 4.6.1 Democratic Values in the 2019–2021 Election Cycle 4.6.2 Personification of Democratic Values 4.7 Conclusion Notes 5 A Populist Leader Under Neoliberal Logic 5.1 Generational Change in Israel’s Right Wing 5.2 A Decline of the Old Statism and the Rise of Neoliberal Logic 5.3 The 2019–2021 Elections 5.3.1 Netanyahu’s Claim, and How He Made His Case 5.3.2 Populism and Neoliberalism in the Service of Netanyahu 5.3.3 “Us and Them” 5.3.4 Identity Politics in the Service of Netanyahu’s Populism 5.3.5 “Sour [Pickles] Theory” as a Leadership Principle 5.3.6 The Fourth Campaign as a Continuation of the Populist Pattern Under Neoliberal Logic 5.4 Instead of a Summary: Hobbes, Locke, Netanyahu, and Israeli Society 5.5 Epilogue Notes References 6 Netanyahu and the Very Short History of the “Right-Wing Bloc” 6.1 Conceptual Framework: Support for a Defendant and the Nexus of Democracy, Populism, and Political Economy 6.2 Netanyahu and the Legal System: Statist (Mamlachtit) Rhetoric and an Ambivalent Attitude Toward the Courts 6.3 The Cases Against Netanyahu 6.4 The Cases Against Netanyahu, the Election Campaigns, and the Formation of the Right-Wing-Religious Bloc: The Objections to the Trial as a Battle “For Democracy” 6.4.1 Toward the April 2019 Election 6.4.2 Toward the September 2019 Election 6.4.3 Toward the March 2020 Election 6.4.4 The Netanyahu–Gantz Government and the March 2021 Election 6.5 Discussion and Conclusions Note References 7 Public and Legal Responsibility of Senior Elected Representatives in the Executive Branch: Benjamin Netanyahu as a Case Study 7.1 Background 7.2 Public Responsibility 7.3 From Ginossar to Deri-Pinhasi, Rochberger-Gapso, and Netanyahu: Supreme Court Decisions On Holding Public Office Under Criminal Indictment 7.3.1 High Court of Justice (HCJ) Case – Ginossar (1993) 7.3.2 Deri-Pinhasi Doctrine (1993) 7.3.3 HCJ Case – Mayors Rochberger and Gapso (2013) 7.3.4 Existing Law and HCJ Netanyahu (2020) 7.4 Parliamentary Oversight 7.5 The Dangers of a Sitting Prime Minister Under Criminal Indictment 7.6 The Ideal Law 7.7 Conclusions Notes References Part 2 Voters, Parties, and the Media 8 Persistent Optimism Under Political Uncertainty: The Evolution of Citizens’ Election Projections During a Protracted Political Crisis 8.1 Political Projections: A Conceptual Framework 8.2 Methods 8.3 Evolution of the Elements of Political Projections Across the 2019–2020 Elections 8.3.1 Predicted State 8.3.2 Probability 8.3.3 Evaluation 8.3.4 Anchors 8.3.5 Behavioral Implications 8.4 The Interplay of Projection Elements: Optimistic Expectations 8.4.1 Expectations and Evaluations: Wishful Thinking 8.4.2 Probabilities and Anchors: The Bases for Optimism 8.4.3 Implications of Positive Expectations for Political Participation 8.5 Summary and Discussion 8.6 Epilogue: The 2021 Election Notes Methodological Appendix Panel Survey Focus Groups Procedure 9 Ethnic Demons and Class Specters: Ethnic and Class Voting in Israel Revisited 9.1 Ethnic Class Or Ideological Voting 9.2 Ethnic Voting in Israel: Review and Hypotheses 9.3 Data and Method 9.4 Analysis and Findings 9.5 Conclusion Notes References 10 Joint Lists in Israeli Politics 10.1 Theoretical and Comparative Background 10.1.1 Pre-Electoral Coalitions 10.1.2 Factors Contributing to the Formation of Joint Lists 10.1.3 Implications for the Political System 10.2 Joint Lists in Israel – Legal, Institutional, and Historical Background 10.2.1 Legal Background 10.2.2 Institutional Rules 10.2.3 Joint Lists and the Crisis of Political Parties 10.3 Research Questions and Hypotheses 10.4 An Empirical Study of Joint Lists in Israel 10.4.1 The Scope of the Phenomenon 10.4.2 Which Parties Join Or Create Joint Lists? 10.4.3 Stability and Continuity of Joint Lists 10.5 Summary of Findings 10.5.1 Summary 10.5.2 Spotlight On the 2019–2021 Elections 10.6 Discussion Notes References 11 The Arab Electorate and Parties, 2019–2021: Toward a Non-Zionist Israeli Identity? 11.1 Conceptual Framework 11.2 The Establishment of the Joint List 11.3 The Breakup of the Joint List and the April 2019 Election 11.4 The Return of the Joint List in the September 2019 and March 2020 Elections 11.5 Public Opinion, Voter Turnout, The Campaign and the Formation of the Rotation Government of Netanyahu and Gantz 11.6 The Breakup of the Joint List and the March 2021 Election 11.7 Discussion and Summary Notes References 12 Three in a (Right-Wing) Boat: Media, Politicians, and the Public in the Age of Digital Communication 12.1 The Citizens: Voicing Their Priorities 12.2 The Media: Tuned to the Citizens 12.3 Politicians: Even More Tuned to the Citizens 12.4 Issue Agendas in Israeli Politics 12.5 Method 12.5.1 Media Agenda 12.5.2 Public Agenda 12.5.3 Politicians’ Agenda 12.6 Results 12.6.1 Issue Congruence Across the Three Actors 12.6.2 Trends in Issue Priorities Across the Four Elections 12.7 Discussion Notes References Index