A curation of articles, essays, book reviews and interviews on critical geographical concerns.
This article examines current manifestations of Zionist political-economy by analyzing discourses that frame Israel as a “Start-Up Nation”—that is, a unique economic achievement that offers a successful business model for the world. By focusing on the 2009 book from the Council of Foreign Relations, Start-Up Nation, this article theorizes “neoliberal Zionism” as a manifestation of Zionism that valorizes specific kinds of neoliberal rationalities in order to garner support for the State of Israel. In particular, neoliberal Zionism produces an entrepreneurial Israeli citizen-subject whose unique cultural attributes derive from compulsory military service and a Zionist past sanitized of conflict with Palestinians. Further, these discourses position this neoliberal Zionist subject as economically out-competing Arabs and Palestinians. At stake is how neoliberalism and exclusionary nationalism potentially mobilize each other and operate as “management” models for other states to adopt.
Though not an exhaustive list, these are many of the main areas we cover.