Call for Papers - "The Perils of Regime Change in Israel" Special Issue, (Israel Studies Review)
Call for Papers
THE PERILS OF REGIME CHANGE IN ISRAEL
Special Issue, Israel Studies Review
Grave concerns about the perils of regime change in Israel demand serious scholarly attention. As Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt wrote in their acclaimed How Democracies Die (2018), and others have corroborated (e.g. Nancy Bermeo, 2016), the breakdown of democratic regimes in the twenty-first century is no longer carried out primarily with guns and tanks. Rather, contemporary democracies are in danger when politicians “try to weaken the institutional buffers of our democracy, including the courts,” “intimidate the free press,” “treat political rivals as enemies,” and more broadly “subvert the very process that brought them to power” (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018: 2-3). Systems of checks and balances are the cornerstone of liberal democracies. In their absence, civil liberties, including the right to pursue and disseminate knowledge, are at risk.
The editors of the journal Israel Studies Review are inviting paper proposals for a special issue on the perils of regime change in Israel. We are interested in papers focusing on diverse aspects of the topic from a variety of disciplines. Areas of interest include but are not limited to law and the judiciary, media, education, the place of religion in public life, gender equality, minority rights, and cultural expressions and censorship. Scholars are welcome to propose additional related areas as long as they fit within the broader theme of the special issue.
Given the need to discuss these real-life developments in real time, the editors are planning to expedite the production of this issue. As such, the timeline for submission of proposals and papers is tighter than usual.
Scholars wishing to contribute should submit a paper proposal abstract of about 250 words to israelstudiesreview@gmail.com. Please note that due to journal space limitations, it is possible that not all strong proposals will be accepted.
Accepted papers will be 6,000-7,000 words (including references). Authors are responsible for following ISR guidelines and submitting a complete and original manuscript.
Schedule
Proposal abstracts: February 8, 2023
Acceptance/Rejection decisions: February 20, 2023
Drafts of full papers: July 15, 2023
Please note that we are looking for academic research articles. The Israel Studies Review does not publish opinion pieces or articles of journalistic nature. All submissions will undergo peer-review as per the norm in the Israel Studies Review.