In this fascinating and timely collection, Oren Barak, Gabi Sheffer, and their colleagues explore the crucial issue of existential threats to nation-states and the implications for foreign policy and domestic governance, particularly the relationship between the topmost civilian and security officials. The studies are interdisciplinary and comparative, the case studies shrewdly chosen. The result is an original, sophisticated book that will appeal-and become indispensable-to scholars and policy makers alike. The future of both democracy and security reside in the findings of this significant work.

Richard H. Kohn, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This book is a tightly conceived and extraordinarily well-focused volume that illuminates the critical and changing issue of existential threats among states. While paying close attention to the central case of Israel, it puts this case in a rich conceptual and comparative framework and will therefore be of great utility to both specialists and generalists. Few anthologies in the field, if any, hang together so well and make such a signal contribution to our practical and theoretical understanding of a neglected core concept of interstate relations.

Alan Dowty, University of Notre Dame