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.