The Politics of Provocation: Participation and Protest in Israel

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION This study was devoted to two goals. The first purpose was to better understand the political culture of Israel and the second aim was to contribute to the development of a comprehensivNCLUSION 169 ticipation and this study has shown how these modes of action offer an additional means of realizing the potential for participation. The distinction between potential and behavior brings up one final lesson about individual political participation which can be gained from the results of this study. It is extreme!y important for researchers to avoid using measures which are focused exclusively on intentions. Although it is understandably difficult to collect data about mobilized behavior, the evidence provided about the gap between potential and action suggests that it is vitally important to make the effort. COLLECTIVEACTION The findings about collective action in Israel have offered strong support for the resource mobilization approach to the subject. The level of group organization and resources was shown to have a powerful effect on both the extensiveness and the effectiveness of protest. The study also formulated and tested a number of original hypotheses about collective action which pointed in some new directions for such research . The most important innovation centered around the notion of strategic needs. Whereas most previous studies of collective action have been focused almost exclusively on the ways in which organization and resources affected collective behavior, the results of the present study pointed to the importance of also considering the role of group interests. The interaction between group ties and interests has provided a useful guideline to understanding choices about collective action. The distinction between a strategy of extensiveness and a strategy of intensity offered a good illustration of this point. Several pieces of evidence were provided to illustrate that both group ties and interests have an effect on decisions about collective action repertoires. The thesis about the effects of group ties was best exemplified by the tendency of Ad Hoc groups to turn to violence. Group interests, however , were also shown to have an effect on decisions about political action : groups with ideological interests were much more likely to choose a strategy of intensity than groups with physical interests. It is important then to take both of these factors into account when attempting to predict collective behavior. The study also developed a more detailed formulation of the notion of repertoire. Although the elements of extensiveness, intensity, activism and flexibi lity do not constitute an exhaustive list of possi- 170 THE POLITICS OF PROVOCATION ble repertoire dimensions, they do provide a logical starting point for research on the subject. Once again repertoires are seen as being changeable and it is important to study and explain these transformations in collective behavior. Some relatively new ideas were also suggested by the various case studies of protest groups. Those who wave the theoretical banner of resource mobilization tend to emphasize the degree of competition among groups over assumedly scarce resources. Although the different groups who were active in Yamit did indeed exhibit a high degree of competition, those protesting about the war in Lebanon exhibited the opposite type of behavior. It is important, therefore, to also investigate areas of cooperation among groups. The findings from the case studies also pointed to the importance of studying the role of the media in political conflicts. This topic has been sorely neglected in the past and although it was difficult to come to any firm conclusions about specific effects, the media served as a central focus for all of the protest groups who were examined. Any comprehensive model in which an explanation of the dynamics of collective action is sought will have to deal with the ways in which the media affect group strategy and behavior. The findings about group success offer yet another example in which the study both confirms previous theories but also suggests new directions for research.Thus, in keeping with resource mobilization theory, organization and resources were shown to be important antecedents of success. The distinction among the various forms of success, however, demonstrated the need to develop a more dynamic approach to the topic. Smaller groups, for example, were better able to make contact with public officials. Researchers studying this question should attempt to explain which types of variables explain what types of success. The Study of Individuals and Groups The theoretical plan of this study was based on a four-stage model of political action which was designed to highlight the similarities between individual participation and collective action...