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There is a moment in revolutions- a precise and historically recognizable sweet spot- when an old, brutal, and hardened regime still deploys its forces, yet something breaks in its resolve. You can sense it, and then the public senses it: fear has shifted sides. The oppressors are no longer as certain as they once were in using force. They cannot compete with sheer numbers, with masses filling the streets. Crucially, their own men begin to hesitate. Security forces grow reluctant to shoot at demonstrators; many have family members among them, or doubt that the regime they are defending will survive. This dynamic is well documented across revolutionary cases. In Iran in 1978–79, the Shah’s regime retained overwhelming military superiority, yet its paralysis came from fractured loyalty within the armed forces and police. In Eastern Europe in 1989, regimes collapsed not because protesters defeated the state militarily, but because security elites lost confidence that repression would restore control - most famously in Berlin Wall’s fall, when orders were issued but no one was willing to enforce them. Similar patterns appeared during the early stages of the Arab uprisings, especially in Tunisia and Egypt, where the army’s refusal to fully suppress mass protests proved decisive. That moment is also when regimes begin to change their language. They make offers. They issue statements acknowledging the “legitimate concerns” of protesters or opposition figures. They float proposals for dialogue or negotiations. Far from signaling strength, these shifts repeatedly mark the point at which a revolutionary situation reaches its peak. Such gestures often confirm what protesters already suspect: that the regime’s primary tools, fear and violance, are no longer functioning. That the state is dying. Political science research on authoritarian breakdown supports this pattern. Revolutions rarely succeed because of popular mobilization alone; they succeed when coercive institutions fragment. Once uncertainty spreads within the security apparatus the regime’s collapse becomes a question of timing. The Islamic Republic still possesses formidable repressive capacity. Yet the signals- hesitation, mixed messaging, demonstration of fear by cutting internet- suggest a leadership aware that it may no longer be able to rely on obedience. Historically, that awareness is one of the clearest indicators that an authoritarian system is entering its most dangerous and potentially decisive phase. It does feel very close.

There is a moment in revolutions- a precise and historically recognizable sweet spot- when an old, brutal, and hardened regime still deploys its forces, yet something breaks in its resolve. You can sense it, and then the public senses it: fear has shifted sides. The oppressors are no longer as certain as they once were in using force. They cannot compete with sheer numbers, with masses filling the streets. Crucially, their own men begin to hesitate. Security forces grow reluctant to shoot at demonstrators; many have family members among them, or doubt that the regime they are defending will survive. This dynamic is well documented across revolutionary cases. In Iran in 1978–79, the Shah’s regime retained overwhelming military superiority, yet its paralysis came from fractured loyalty within the armed forces and police. In Eastern Europe in 1989, regimes collapsed not because protesters defeated the state militarily, but because security elites lost confidence that repression would restore control - most famously in Berlin Wall’s fall, when orders were issued but no one was willing to enforce them. Similar patterns appeared during the early stages of the Arab uprisings, especially in Tunisia and Egypt, where the army’s refusal to fully suppress mass protests proved decisive. That moment is also when regimes begin to change their language. They make offers. They issue statements acknowledging the “legitimate concerns” of protesters or opposition figures. They float proposals for dialogue or negotiations. Far from signaling strength, these shifts repeatedly mark the point at which a revolutionary situation reaches its peak. Such gestures often confirm what protesters already suspect: that the regime’s primary tools, fear and violance, are no longer functioning. That the state is dying. Political science research on authoritarian breakdown supports this pattern. Revolutions rarely succeed because of popular mobilization alone; they succeed when coercive institutions fragment. Once uncertainty spreads within the security apparatus the regime’s collapse becomes a question of timing. The Islamic Republic still possesses formidable repressive capacity. Yet the signals- hesitation, mixed messaging, demonstration of fear by cutting internet- suggest a leadership aware that it may no longer be able to rely on obedience. Historically, that awareness is one of the clearest indicators that an authoritarian system is entering its most dangerous and potentially decisive phase. It does feel very close.

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השרה סטרוק לערוץ 7: כמה שנים זה ייקח אני לא יודעת...השיבה לעזה כרוכה בקורבנות רבים. עזה היא חלק מארץ ישראל ויבוא היום שנשוב אליה.

השרה סטרוק לערוץ 7: כמה שנים זה ייקח אני לא יודעת...השיבה לעזה כרוכה בקורבנות רבים. עזה היא חלק מארץ ישראל ויבוא היום שנשוב אליה.

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אין ספק, ההתנגדות הישראלית ל-f35 נרשמה, ויורש העצר הסעודי מתקבל בבית הלבן במטס אמריקני של f35 .

אין ספק, ההתנגדות הישראלית ל-f35 נרשמה, ויורש העצר הסעודי מתקבל בבית הלבן במטס אמריקני של f35 .

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Huge demonstrations in Israel: Many friends abroad have been asking why Israelis are taking to the streets today in the largest demonstrations since October 7. Given that Hamas executed the hostages, why are they demonstrating against the government? The reason is clear: there is a consensus within the Israeli security apparatus, including the defense minister, the chief of staff, and the head of the Mossad, that the government, led by Netanyahu, is making demands that could sabotage a real chance for a deal to return the hostages. These demands, which lack real security value, are seen as politically motivated. It's important to note that no one in Israel is under the illusion that Hamas is necessarily interested in a deal. Israelis understand that Hamas, with its acts of mass murder, abduction, rape, and looting, is responsible for the situation we are in. However, Israelis—and especially the hostage families, and the families of those who have already been returned, alive or dead—expect the Israeli government to do everything in its power to bring them home. This includes being willing to agree to a deal. Israel has already seen significant success in the negotiations, including a tacit agreement from moderating countries and Hamas that this deal would not mark the end of the war. The IDF would be understood to continue pursuing Hamas after an interim deal that was supposed to release between 18 and 30 live hostages, some of whom were executed in cold blood by Hamas between Thursday night and Friday. The majority of Israelis do not trust this government. It has not won a single reputable poll since March 2023, long before October 7, and it certainly hasn't won any since then. Most polls indicate that most Israelis believe the Prime Minister prioritizes his political survival—specifically, retaining the far right in his coalition—over the return of the hostages. This fear of a disastrous election defeat, and the potential end of his political career, seems to take precedence. This is the context behind why hundreds of thousands of Israelis, many of them reserve soldiers, are now protesting during a time of war. They are making a single demand: that the government do everything in its power to bring the hostages back home. They do so with the full understanding that it's not only up to the government, and that the enemy is both cruel and calculated. This demand is far more than political pressure on the government to agree. It’s about the essence of Israel as a society that enshrines the value of solidarity, encapsulated in the Mishnah’s teaching that saving one soul is akin to saving the entire world. The idea that Israel will do everything—not only through military force, which no one doubts, but also through political moderation and compromise—to return Israelis who were kidnapped, sometimes from their beds, by a cruel enemy, is central to the Israeli identity. And it is this part of the Israeli identity that the government has completely managed to unmoor by its actions. It is this part of the Israeli identity that people are demonstrating for.

נדב איל Nadav Eyal

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