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Arie Shachar played a key role in the introduction of modern urban geography in Israel, in the shift from the study of Israeli cities in light of global trends to the study of global influences on Israeli cities, and in linking urban geography with urban planning. He had a major role in the emergence of a new planning doctrine, less preoccupied with population dispersal and preservation of agricultural land, and more with economic growth, sustainability, metropolitan planning, and compact development policies. In the modernist-post-modernist debate, Shachar was clearly in the camp of modernists, preferring rational forward-looking planning approaches over critical discourses that challenge fundamental aspects of social and political order. These facets have become defining features of mainstream Israeli urban geography since the 1960s. However, immense growth and diversification of urban geography and the dominance of urbanism in modern societies make it increasingly difficult, in the early 2000s, to define the boundaries of urban geography and its core theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the emergence of critical sociology and post-Zionism among social scientists in Israel. Impact of sociology on ideology; Ideological issues involved in critical sociology; Correlation between Zionism and liberal democracy.

Examines the role of constitutional revolution on the formation of the social and economic order in Israel. Aspects on constitutional revolution; Influence of constitutional revolution on the emergence of neo-liberalism; Developments in labor law and the constitutional status of labor-related social rights.

Examines the aspects of the sociological academe in Israel. Comparison between critical and non-critical sociology; Influence of culture and religion on sociological academe; Discussion on the historical determinism of sociology.