Electoral Gridlock in Israel

Hopkins Podcast on Foreign Affairs

Israel’s parliamentary election this March– its fourth in two years– has provided no conclusion to the political deadlock the country continues to face. As of now, neither coalition has been able to achieve a majority in Israel’s parliament, continuing the electoral gridlock which may result in a fifth election this summer. This constant cycle of reelection underscores an ongoing political crisis in Israel. What are the factors that have caused such a severe national political deadlock? What is Netanyahu’s role in this crisis? What does the inability for Israel’s parliament to form stable coalitions say about the state of its government and its position in the Middle East? Joining us today to answer these questions is Dr. Natan Sachs.

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Dr. Natan Sachs is the Director of the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy in Washington DC. He publishes widely on Middle East affairs, on Israel’s foreign policy, and Israeli domestic politics, and is a frequent media commentator on these issues. Sachs has taught at Georgetown University, was a Hewlett Fellow at Stanford University, a visiting fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center, and a Fulbright Fellow in Indonesia. He holds a B.A. from the Amirim Honors Program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University.

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