Yehezkel Dror ( he, יחזקאל דרור; born 1928) is a professor emeritus of political science at

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Biography

Arthur Yehezkel DrorAluf Benn
'There's No Alternative to Netanyahu; Our Democracy Is Safe,' Says Israel's Top Public Policy Expert
Haaretz, 17 July 2020 was born in Vienna, Austria. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

with his family in 1938. He graduated from the

Hebrew Reali School , motto_translation = ''Walk Humbly'' , address = Hertzel 16 , city = Haifa , zipcode = 3312103 , country = Israel , coordinates = , other_name ...

in Haifa in 1946. Dror holds a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and Magister Juris from the Hebrew University, and

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

and SJD (doctor of juridical sciences) qualifications from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. In 1954, Dror married Rachel Elboim-Dror, an educational researcher, with whom he had three children: Asael, Otniel and Itiel.

Academic career

He was a faculty member of the Hebrew University's Department of Political Science from 1957 until his retirement, and was also head of its Public Administration division from 1964. He is a pioneering author in the fields of management, policy science, public administration, capacities to govern, leadership and security issues. Colleague David Levi-Faur considers him to be "one of the most influential scholars in the founding generation of public administration in the world. He is an important voice in connection with promoting planning, prior deployment and prediction in public policy. ..To a large degree, the world is moving against Dror, which is a pity." In 1968, Dror joined the RAND Corporation as a senior staff member. The RAND

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

was instrumental in planning America's strategy in the Cold War. While at RAND, Dror developed the concept and introduced the term of "crazy states", arguably his most widely known contribution to strategic thought. In his definition, as laid out in his 1971 book "Crazy States", such a state or organization is characterized by fanaticism, and the fact that they follow their goals while ignoring the common profit-and-loss considerations.

Public affairs

Dror served as a senior consultant on policy-making and planning for the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i government, and founded the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute. He engaged in international consultantship, serving inter alia from 1968-70 as a senior staff member at the American Rand Corporation. He served on the

Winograd Commission The Winograd Commission ( he, ועדת וינוגרד; the commission's official name is הוועדה לבדיקת ארועי המערכה בלבנון 2006 – "The commission of inquiry into the events of military engagement in Lebanon 2006") is ...

established to investigate Israel's actions in the 2006 Lebanon War. Dror had recommended the establishment of a strong National Security Council, but in his opinion, he was only given the power to effectively sustain the concept once he became part of the Winograd Commission, which led to the partial implementation of his idea. In a mid-2020 interview, he advanced the concept of a similar body being created for overseeing domestic policy.

Published works

* ''Public Policymaking Reexamined'', Chandler (1968), Transaction Publishers (1983) and Routledge (2017), "probably the most important book on public policy making published in this century" (1970 review) * ''Design for Policy Sciences'', American Elsevier Publishing Company, 1971 * ''Crazy States: A Counterconventional Strategic Problem'', Heath Lexington Books, 1971 * ''Policymaking under Adversity'', Transaction Books, 1986 * ''The Capacity to Govern: A Report to the Club of Rome'', Routledge, 2001 * Foreword to ''Public Policy in Israel: Perspectives and Practices'', Dani Korn (ed.), Lexington Books, 2005 * ''Israeli Statecraft: National Security Challenges and Responses'', Routledge, BESA Studies in International Security, 2011. " fundamental treatise for public policy studies....a modern classic of continuing importance... * ''Avant-Garde Politician : Leaders for a New Epoch'', Westphalia Press, 2014 * ''For Rulers : Priming Political Leaders for Saving Humanity from Itself'', Westphalia Press, 2017 * ''Steering Human Evolution: Eighteen Theses on Homo Sapiens Metamorphosis'', Routledge, 2020

Awards and recognition

* In 1965, Dror received the Rosolio Award, the Israeli annual

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rough ...

award for contributions to the study and practice of

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

, named after Civil Service Commissioner David (Werner) Rosolio * In 2005, he was awarded the Israel Prize, for management.Israel Prize Judges’ Rationale for the Award to Y. Dror (in Hebrew)
Israel Prize official website

References

External links

Yehezkel Dror Biography on PIWP database

Articles by Yehezkel Dror

Yehezkel Dror's Books

Israel Prize Official Site - CV of Yehezkel Dror (in Hebrew)

Interview with Yehezkel Dror by Ofir Kafri at The Global Scholar Knowledge Initiative (GSKI)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dror, Yehezkel 1928 births Living people Jewish emigrants from Austria to Mandatory Palestine after the Anschluss Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Harvard Law School alumni Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel Prize in management recipients Public administration scholars Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Israeli people of Austrian-Jewish descent Austrian Jews Jewish Israeli writers