Israel’s citizenship policy since the 1990s—new challenges, (mostly) old solutions

Abstract

Israel’s highly restrictive citizenship policy constitutes the clearest indicator of its dominant ethnic model of citizenship. However, this policy has faced new challenges since the early 1990s, following the mass migration of non-Jewish immigrants. This paper examines and characterizes changes in immigrants’ entitlement to Israeli citizenship since the 1990s. It indicates that while Israel’s traditional citizenship policy has not undergone any significant change, two trends are evident: a much more restrictive policy towards Arab immigrants; and a somewhat more inclusive policy concerning other immigrants. To explain how these conflicting trends have coexisted, this study identifies three major characteristics of the Israeli policy: widespread use of the ‘divide and rule’ technique; managing policy through bureaucratic decisions; and the growing assimilation of liberal and republican principles into Israel’s citizenship policy, although without undermining—on the contrary, even reinforcing—the dominant ethnic model of citizenship. These findings indicate that although the dominant ethnic citizenship model in Israel remains stable, and can successfully tackle significant obstacles, limited opportunities exist for greater inclusion of specific non-Jewish populations within the Israeli polity.     

The Infiltration of Terrorist Organizations Into the Pharmaceutical Industry: Hezbollah as a Case Study

Criminal syndicates and terrorist organizations are inherently different, one motivated by profit and the other by political goals. Yet their difference enables them to cooperate for their mutual benefit. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the drug trade; from harvesting and trafficking in illegal substances, it has been an easy transition to counterfeiting and disseminating medications. Hezbollah, in particular, has become involved in the production, smuggling and distribution of counterfeit medications in North America, Africa and the Middle East as a means of raising immense sums of money to finance its terrorist activities. Hezbollah's infiltration into the pharmaceuticals industry illustrates the danger posed by the marriage of terrorism and crime, which arises both from enhanced resources for terrorism, and from the corruption of a legitimate and necessary industry. Understanding the nature and extent of this danger is the first step in preparing to meet it.     

National innovation systems and the globalization of nanotechnology innovation

While there has been much emphasis over the last decade on the science of nanotechnology and on the implications and risks of potential applications, it is now timely to increase attention to the emerging dynamics of nanotechnology commercialization. This paper examines, from a global perspective, where and how corporations are entering into nanotechnology innovation. The paper tests the proposition that a significant shift has occurred in recent years in the orientation of corporate nanotechnology activities—from research discovery to patented applications. It also examines the extent to which the character and structure of corporate nanotechnology activity by country initially reflects national innovation system characteristics and prior public research funding inputs in the stage when discovery is most emphasized. The results indicate that national innovation systems characteristics are significant factors in the commercialization shift of nanotechnology and highlight the importance of innovation system policy factors. We also observe the influence of cross-border international invention linkages, suggesting that national innovation policies also need to be open and international in orientation.     

Beyond dependency,autonomy, and exchange: Prosocial behavior in late-life adaptation

This paper focuses on prosocial and altruistic behavior in late life. Empirical data on prevalence of helping behaviors among the elderly and the range of motives underlying their helping are reviewed. The authors consider implications of these data for theories of social behavior in late life. Questions are raised regarding the universal applicability of models of social behavior which have been implicit in much of existing research in social gerontology. Data on helping by the elderly are related to dependency and autonomy models of social interaction. Futhermore, the potential for altruistic as opposed to extrinsic motivations for helping among older adults is considered, challenging the exclusive reliance on exchange principles for understanding social interactions by older persons. Empirical evidence of prosocial behavior in late life is placed in the context of life-span developmental theories of personality and a contributory model of late life social behavior is proposed.     

Mapping the nanotechnology enterprise: a multi-indicator analysis of emerging nanodistricts in the US South

Nanotechnology has attracted significant research, funding, and policy activity in recent years in the US and many other countries. Of particular interest are the locational characteristics of this emerging technology. This study examines the emergence of nanotechnology in the US South to explore questions of regional standing and spatial trajectory, using an exploratory multi-indicator approach. Our research employs an array of 10 indicators of knowledge generation, human capital, R&D funding, and patenting, to uncover developments, clusters, and linkages in nanotechnology emergence. Results indicate that although there is nanotechnology activity in every state in the US South, this activity agglomerates in a few locations. One emerging nanodistrict (North Carolina’s Research Triangle) has prior strengths in high technology research and commercialization, especially based on biotechnology; but other districts (e.g., Oak Ridge Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia) that have strengths in certain aspects of the nanotechnology research ecosystem have weaknesses in commercialization. The study illustrates how multi-indicator approaches can be developed from existing databases, using customized search techniques, and how the insights from multi-indicator measurement can be used to provide insights for research and innovation policy.