Israel at the polls, 2006 / edited by Shmuel Sandler, Manfred Gerstenfeld and Jonathan Rynhold.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: from centrism to neo-centrism / Shmuel Sandler and Jonathan Rynhold -- The run-up to the election / Manfred Gerstenfeld -- Kadima and the centre: convergence in the Israeli party system / Reuven Y. Hazan -- Downfall of a dominant party: the Likud and the 2006 election / Jonathan Spyer -- No longer dominant, playing for second: the Israel Labour Party in the 2006 election / Neill Lochery -- The religious parties in the 2006 election / Asher Cohen -- The revival of 'Russian' politics in Israel: the case of the 2006 election / Vladimir (Ze'ev) Khanin -- Stability amidst flux: the Arab parties come of age in the 2006 general elections / Hillel Frisch -- Peace and security in the 2006 election / Jonathan Rynhold -- A clash of authority: lay leaders and rabbis in the National Religious Party / Etta Bick -- The media in the 2006 Israeli elections: who's manufacturing consent? Framing the spin-doctors / Atara Frenkel-Faran and Sam Lehman-Wilzig -- Corruption in the 2006 Israeli elections / Ira Sharkansky -- The 2006 election and the legacy of the direct election system / Emanuele Ottolenghi -- From the outside looking in: external actors and the 2006 Israeli elections / Barry Rubin -- Is it the economy, stupid? / Yakir Plessner.

The 2006 Israeli elections constituted a major redrawing of the political map, due to Ariel Sharon's exit from the Likud party and his creation of a new centre-right party, Kadima. This book considers the challenges that face the new government in the wake of the election results.