Book Reviews : Politics, U.S.A.: Cases on the American Democratic Process. Edited by ANDREW M. SCOTT and EARLE WALLACE. (3d ed. ; New York: Macmillan, 1969. 507 pp. $4.95.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591297002300120 |
| Published date | 01 March 1970 |
| Author | Martin Gruberg |
| Date | 01 March 1970 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
220
son
state.
Hence
Perlmutter
concludes
that
Israel
challenges
theorists
such
as
Andreski,
Huntington,
and
Von
der
Goltz,
who
contend
that
a
high
military
con-
tent
in
a
culture
enhances
militarism.
Perumutter,
in
turn,
can
be
challenged
with
his
own
evidence.
Zahal
is
ruled
by
the
Minister
of
Defence,
who
decides
policy
in
consultation
with
whomever
he
chooses
but
there
is
no
obligation
on
his
part
to
keep
anyone
else
informed
of
what
Zahal
is
doing.
Autocratic
Ben
Gurion,
a
strong
backer
of
Zahal,
often
kept
the
Government
in
the
dark.
Lavon,
another
backer
of
Zahal,
was
often
kept
in
the
dark
by
Zahal
which
still
retained
its
contacts
with
Ben
Gurion,
then
outside
the
Government,
and
operated
perhaps
contrary
to
Prime
Minister
Sharett’s
inten-
tions.
Eshkol
shared
his
information
with
the
Cabinet
and
for
this
was
bitterly
criti-
cized
by
Ben
Gurion
and
branded
weak,
though
he gave
strong
financial
support
to
Zahal,
something
which
he
had
not
done
previously
as
Minister
of
Finance.
Now
Dayan,
the
Zahal
man,
is
Defence
Minister,
a
position
he
gained
against
the
oppo-
sition
of
the
present
Prime
Minister
and
Foreign
Minister.
The
National
coalition
which
gave
Dayan
his
opportunity,
has
been
divided
on
what
to
do
in
many
areas,
including
defense
and
occupied
territories.
The
only
prepared,
unified
and
cohesive
body,
Zahal,
has
stepped
into
the
political
vacuum.
Politically,
too,
Zahal
is
hardly
milk
white
pure.
When
Ben
Gurion
depolitized
Zahal
in
1948-49
the
leftist
Pal-
machniks
resigned
and
few
rightist
guerrillas
joined
the
professional
ranks.
Zahal
has
always
been
left
of
center,
but
not
that
far
left,
and
in
top
ranks,
increasingly
rightist.
Hence
Ben
Gurion’s
break with
Mapai
has
been
a
divisive
influence
and
the
wounds
are
not
healed
yet.
Nor
is
Perlmutter
an
objective
observer
on
this
split.
He
describes
Dayan
as
&dquo;the
cautious
and
supreme
political
tactician
and
thinker,&dquo;
but
this
is
not
quite
how
others
see
him.
After
all,
Dayan
did
not
have
to
join
Ben
Gurion’s
Rafi
at
the
last
moment
(wrongly,
too,
as
events
turned
out)
and
his
conduct
since
1967
has
hardly
been
decisive.
Still,
Perlmutter
can
be
forgiven
his
prejudices
for
his
first-rate
account
of
Zahal
and
the
changing
moods
in
Israeli
political
life.
He
cannot
be
forgiven
for
describing
left-pacifist
Mapam’s
New
Outlook
as
militant
Rafi’s
official
journal
or
other
slips
which
doubtless
he
will
be
horrified
to
discover
found
their
way
into
this
otherwise
excellent
book.
University
of
California,
Berkeley
GERALD
CAIDEN
Politics,
U.S.A.:
Cases
on
the
American
Democratic
Process.
Edited
by
ANDREW
M.
SCOTT
and
EARLE
WALLACE.
(3d
ed. ;
New
York:
Macmillan,
1969.
507
pp.
$4.95.)
Perhaps
it
is
the
fate
of
an
American
Government
casebook
which
seeks
rele-
vancy
and
immediacy
to
be
overtaken
by
events
and
to
be
soon
supplanted
by
more
au
courant
books
of
readings.
Scott
and
Wallace
aim
at
timeliness
and
this
third
edition
of
Politics,
U.S.A.
contains
little
that
was
included
in
their
second
edition.
Yet,
this
1969
volume
already
includes
several
selections
which
are
dated.
These
fight
a
bygone
battle
even
though
they
breathed
life
in
1968.
A
new
leader
is
in
the
White
House.
A
new
Administration,
especially
when
it is
of
a
different
party,
brings
with
it
a
different
orientation
and
emphasis.
Though
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