Ira Sharkansky

Ira Sharansky

Ira Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science and public administration at Hebrew University.

His books, which are available on Amazon, include:

*Alternative federal solutions to the problem of the administered territories
*Ambiguity, Coping, and Governance: Israeli Experiences in Politics, Religion, and Policymaking
*Ancient and Modern Israel: An Exploration of Political Parallels
*Coping with Terror: An Israeli Perspective
* Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land and Prophetic Tradition
*Governing Jerusalem: Again on the World’s Agenda
* Israel and its Bible: A Political Analysis
* Maligned States: policy accomplishments, problems and opportunities
* Policy Analysis in Political Science
* Policy and Politics in American Governments
* Policy Making in Israel: Routines for Simple Problems and Coping with the Complex
* Politics and Planning in the Holy City
* Politics and Policymaking in Search of Simplicity
* Public Administration: Agencies, Policies, and Politics
* Public Administration Policy Making in Government Agencies
* Public Administration (2nd Edition): Policy Making in Government Agencies
* Regionalism in American Politics
* Rituals of Conflict: Religion, Politics, and Public Policy in Israel
* Spending in the American States
* The Policy Predicament: Making and Implementing Public Policy
* The Political Economy of Israel
* The Politics of Religion and the Religion of Politics
*The Politics of Taxing and Spending
* The Routines of Politics
* The United States: A Study of a Developing Country
* The United States Revisited: A Study of a Still Developing Country
* Urban Politics and Public Policy [Robert Lineberry]
* What Makes Israel Tick: How Domestic Policy-Makers Cope with Restraints
* Wither the State: Politics and Public Enterprise in Three Countries

DeTocqueville’s essays make one wonder if democracy can take root in Muslim world

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– I have been among those mocking commentators who applaud the signs of democracy in the mass protests of Egyptians that resulted in the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. I am skeptical in the extreme about the chances of democracy taking hold in societies where Islam is the prevailing religion, especially in a […]

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Ira Sharkansky

Predictions of new intifada based on faulty assumptions

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Major events in Lebanon,Tunis and Egypt, along with lesser noises from Yemen and Jordan have excited the Israeli and international peace camps to insist on greater efforts by Israel, the United States and others. If not, Israel will pay a heavy price in inevitable violence, and the rest of the world will

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

U.S. policy toward Egypt bewilders analysts on all sides

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — Headline on page one of Ha’aretz, “Mubarak: ‘Obama does not understand Egyptian culture.’” Summary of today’s posting from Memri, a well informed intelligence source that translates material from Muslim media: “The　Egyptian Foreign Ministry has rejected the U.S.’s stance on the protests in Egypt, telling it bluntly to mind its own

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Ira Sharkansky

With Egypt, Lebanon in turmoil, Israel preoccupied with own affairs

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–You’ve had a rest from me while we have been enjoying the sights and tastes of southern France. But the world has been busy. First there was a release of hitherto secret details from al-Jazeera on Israeli-Palestinian discussions, then the publication of Ehud Olmert’s memoirs, and then the spread of upsets to

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Al Jazeera publishes leaked Palestinian documents on Israel negotiations

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM —  Wikileaks is infectious. Al-Jazeera has caught the bug, and released some 1,600 secret Palestinian documents, said to represent Palestinian-Israeli negotiations over more than a decade of on-again off-again talks.   Some of the details suggest far reaching Palestinian concessions, but others indicate that they were not far reaching enough for

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

U.S. health care system staggers along without proper analysis

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The New York Times has published yet another item that describes confusion in the highest American government circles dealing with health care.  The story is one of hope and guesswork by competing experts.   You’ve heard of a pass and a prayer, or a Hail Mary. The image carries over from football

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Ira Sharkansky, USA

Clinton’s critique of Arab leaders not likely to change their minds

JERUSALEM — A New York Times story from Qatar begins  “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a scalding critique of Arab leaders here on Thursday, saying they badly needed reforms to jump-start their economies and overcome dwindling natural resources, or risk having extremists take root in their societies.”  She said, “In too many places, in too

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Ira Sharkansky

Lebanon’s political crisis, Sarah Palin’s blunder, Jerusalemite poll… how important are they?

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM –Amazing, funny, dangerous, annoying? Take your pick about three items in the news. Each may have legs, and keep running until something real happens. Or each may be a passing blip to be ignored in the continuing stream of events that turn out to be more important. One is Sarah Palin’s

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Ira Sharkansky

Palestinian entrepreneur seeking new road angers Israelis with refusal to use West Bank Jewish goods

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — The city of Rawabi has not made it to conventional atlases or a prominent mention in international media, but it is shaping up as a point of tension between Israel and the Palestine Authority. Last evening it was the center piece in a discussion on prime time television. The guest

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Israelis focus on Giffords’ Jewishness, compare Tucson rampage to Rabin assassination

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the collateral killing of Judge John Roll and several others has generated a great deal of commentary. Much of it deals with the capacity of incendiary political rhetoric to trigger violence from those who are on the fringes of sanity or utterly unhinged. Israelis are

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East