The Sociological Heritage of Moshe Lissak: The Bi-directional Utilization of a Conceptual Framework

Moshe Lissak is the founding father of military sociology in Israel. He was the first to offer a conceptual framework for the discussion of civilmilitary relations, central to which is role expansion, convergence/divergence and institutional linkages. He was the first to try to provide an empirical dimension to the concepts. Moreover, Lissak developed this conceptual framework out of a theoretical discussion that relates to armed forces in general. Only then did he “import” the conceptions to the discussion of the case of Israel. It is my contention; however, that the conceptual frameworks that Lissak helped develop enables the formulation of insights that are different from those of Lissak’s—which have been anchored within the mainstream academic discourse. Hence, Lissak unintentionally opened up a more critical discussion.