Building Democracy on Sand

Published in the weeks before the 2013 Knesset elections, Building Democracy on Sand by IDI President Dr. Arye Carmon is more relevant than ever. This book describes and analyzes the travails of Israeli democracy in its quest to formulate its identity and normative infrastructures in the absence of a formative constitution. Dr. Carmon's gripping personal story is interwoven with the struggle of Israeli democracy to adopt a constitution by consensus, which is the very heart of this volume.

In its role as both a research institute and a change agent, IDI initiated meetings and dialogue with leaders of the various sectors of Israeli society, members of Israel's political parties, Israeli heads of state, and Israeli policy makers, as part of its effort to formulate a constitution for Israel. Dr. Carmon's descriptions of these meetings is both informative and instructive, and attest to the nature and motives of Israeli public discourse.

Dr. Arye Carmon, founder and president of the Israel Democracy Institute, spearheaded IDI's efforts to establish a Constitution by Consensus.