Authority and Participation in a New Democracy: Political Struggles in Mapai, Israel's Ruling Party, 1948-1953

Authority and Participation in a New Democracy focuses on the changes undergone by Mapai, Israel’s first ruling party, during Israel’s first years of independence, then analyzes the effects of these changes in relation to Israeli political culture. Bareli’s main claim is that it was only during this period that a hierarchically-organized group of leaders succeeded in imposing its dominance, fostering obedience within the party and creating oligarchic characteristics in Israel’s democracy. The influence of the kibbutz movement, the moshavim movement and of urban intelligentsia— who represented the opposite political view of participatory democracy—was reduced to a minimum. This process would have a profound impact on issues of equality, on the relations between veteran Israelis and immigrants from both European and Islamic countries, and on social and civic norms.