The Israeli State and Society: Boundaries and Frontiers by Baruch Kimmerling

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Differentiation between social status originating in economic-class factors and that which originates in location among the center-periphery axis does not obtain solely for the mixed society of Mandatory Palestine. It stands out also in other divided societies. Indeed, location on the center-periphery axis generally reflects cultural affinity of a strong expressive dimension to the ascriptive framework of the community, its values and collective symbols of identity; location of the class-economic ladder of social stratification, in contrast, reflects affinity to values of the economic man with individual and instrumental orientations.

As we have seen in the case of Israel, a number of important exogenous forces, including high rates of migration, the structure of the Arab national movement, and the availability of unencumbered cadres, all served to weaken the possible opponents to the increasing control of the para-statal institutions led by the labor Zionists. The result has been that the current aggregate capabilities of the Israeli state have been exceptionally high, especially relative to those of other new states. The difficulties the state has had in the areas of rulemaking have stemmed in part from the specific accommodations made in the pre-state period to the relatively important and central groups of Orthodox Jews.

The following chart indicates the struggles with these actors that have deeply affected the historical crystallization of states. Struggles in the Historical Crystallization of States The above framework provides a basis for comparative analysis of the historical experiences important in the crystallization of states. , the impact of migration on existing strategies of survival, the effect of the Russian Revolution on cadres for the Yishuv), have in large part determined the ultimate "stateness" of states.