Israel's Public Administration

Structure, Functions and Needed Reforms
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-32365-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 294 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics

Israel’s Public Administration: Structure, Functions and Needed Reforms provides a comprehensive and critical examination of Israel’s civil service, its institutional evolution, and the challenges it faces in maintaining effective and democratic governance.

Drawing on extensive historical analysis, quantitative data, and comparative perspectives, Itzhak Galnoor and Nissim Cohen trace how foundational institutional choices have shaped the structure, culture, and performance of Israel’s public administration. The book identifies key structural weaknesses - including fragmented accountability, politicized appointments, opaque budgeting practices, and problematic privatization policies - and explains how these dynamics have contributed to inefficiency, inequality, and democratic deficits. This second edition incorporates the latest available data and introduces a new chapter examining the public administration’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, offering timely insight into state capacity under conditions of emergency. The authors conclude with concrete and practical reform proposals, including legal safeguards, strengthened accountability mechanisms, outcome-oriented budgeting, and measures to reinforce professionalism and inclusivity in the civil service.

This book will appeal to students and scholars of public administration, political science, and Israeli politics, as well as policymakers, civil servants, and practitioners interested in governance reform, state capacity, and democratic accountability.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Galnoor, Itzhak

Cohen, Nissim

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Verwaltungswissenschaft, Öffentliche Verwaltung
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; Introduction 1. Civil service: A comparative perspective 2. The public sector in Israel broadly defined 3. The establishment and legal framework of the civil service 4. The functioning of the Israeli civil service 5. Regulation 6. Civil servants 7. The senior echelons 8. The budgeting process 9. Oversight and control of the civil service 10. The culture of administration in Israel 11. Privatization: A reform that was implemented 12. Public administration reforms 13. Case study: The COVID-10 crisis in Israel, 2019-2021

Über Autor(innen)

Itzhak Galnoor is former Head of Israel’s Civil Service Commission and Herbert Samuel Professor of Political Science (Emeritus) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has written extensively on Israeli governance and democracy, political institutions, and state-society relations.

Nissim Cohen is a Full Professor in the Division of Public Administration and Policy, School of Political Sciences, University of Haifa. His research focuses on policy entrepreneurship, street-level bureaucracy, and public administration reform.