Crisis Studies of the Islamic World

Crisis Studies of the Islamic World

Netanyahu's psychological characteristics and its effect on Israel's approach to the Gaza war (2023)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Amirroham Shojaie 1
Mehdi Hedayati Shahidani 2
1 Departmen of Political Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
2 Academic Staff, Department of Political Sciences, University of Guilan
10.27834999/CSIW.2406.1408.3.34.8
Abstract
The Gaza war, which erupted following the Al-Aqsa storm operation on October 7, 2023, took the Israeli government by surprise and highlighted the aggressive and opportunistic nature of its actions to the global community. This article aims to analyze Israel's strategies during this conflict by examining how Netanyahu's personality traits influenced the country's foreign policy. The main question of this research is, how did Netanyahu's psychological characteristics affect Israel's approach to the Gaza war? In response to this question, this hypothesis has been proposed that Netanyahu's psychological traits, particularly his conceptual complexity and cognitive coherence, contributed to Israel's aggressive and expansionist behavior in this conflict. This is evident in the rejection of cease-fire proposals, the relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip, the neglect of internal pressures such as demands from hostage families, and the dismissal of international calls for restraint, even from the United States. This analytical-explanatory research will draw on theories from personality psychology and cognitive psychology to support its findings.
Keywords
Gaza war
Zionist regime
cognitive psychology
Netanyahu
personality psychology

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Crisis Studies of the Islamic World
Volume 11, Issue 3 - Serial Number 34
Autumn Quarterly
Autumn 2024
Pages 169-189

  • Receive Date 14 June 2024
  • Revise Date 01 August 2024
  • Accept Date 12 August 2024