Israel’s Place in a Changing Regional Order (1948–2013)

In Israel’s earlier years it feared the great potential of Arab military power. Israel’s founding fathers constantly agonized over the balance of power with the Arabs, which they expected to change with time in the Arabs’ favor. They did not and could not have foreseen Arab weakness and decline. In recent years the Arabs, generally speaking, instead of going from strength to strength, have become a conglomerate of failed or failing states paving the way for the proliferation of a host of dangerous non-state actors. Therefore, as opposed to Israel’s earlier appraisals, the country’s current concerns are related not to the power of the Arabs but to the regional fall-out of Arab weakness.