Eitan Shamir
Professor Eitan Shamir is a scholar in the field of strategic studies. He currently serves as the Managing Director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) and holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Bar Ilan University. Furthermore, he is the academic head of the MA program in Security and Cyber Security.
Before delving into the academic realm, Shamir served as the head of the National Security Doctrine Department at the Office of the Prime Minister (Israel), within the Ministry of Strategic Affairs. He also served as a Senior Fellow at the Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies (CIMS) in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
He has authored numerous articles published in leading academic journals. He published several books, including Transforming Command: The Pursuit of Mission Command in the US, UK, and Israeli Armies (Stanford UP, 2011), Moshe Dayan: The Making of a Strategist (Modan and Ministry of Defense, 2023 in Hebrew), and The Art of Military Innovation: Lessons from the IDF (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2023) co-authored with Edward Luttwak.
He earned his PhD from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, Additionally, he holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Strategy from Brigham Young University.
Publications
Books
Transforming Command: The Pursuit of Mission Command in the US, UK and Israeli Armies, (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011)
Moshe Dayan: The Making of a Strategist, (Modan and Ministry of Defense, 2023 in Hebrew)
The Art of Military Innovation: Lessons from the IDF (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2023) co-authored with Edward Luttwak
Articles in Academic Journals
“From Retaliation to Open Bridges: Moshe Dayan's Evolving Approach towards the Population in Counter Insurgency”, Civil Wars, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 63-79, March 2012.
“Israel’s Future Wars: Universal Lessons of a Peculiar Case”, Strategic Insights, Vol. 10 Issue 3, pp. 164 -171, October 2011
“Coping with Non State Rivals”, Infinity Journal, Issue 1 No. 2, pp. 8-11, Spring 2011.
With Uzi Ben Shalom, “Mission Command between Theory and Practice: The IDF Case”, Defense & Security Analysis, Vol. 27, No.2, pp.119-134, June 2011.
“The Long and Winding Road: The US Army Managerial Approach to Command and the Adoption of Auftragstaktik (Mission Command)” Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 33, No. 5, 647-674, October 2010.
Chapters in Edited Books
“Peace Support Operations and the ‘Strategic Corporal’: Implications for Military Organization and Culture”, in Kobi Michael, Eyal Ben-Ari and David Kellen (Eds.), The Transformation of the World of Warfare and Peace Support Operations, (West Port, CT: Praeger Security International, 2008).
With Chris Schilling, “Cognitive Aspects of Business Innovation”, in I. Linkov, E. A. Ferguson and V. S. Magar (eds), Real Time Deliberative Decision Making, (Netherlands: Springer, 2008)
With Sergio Catignani, “Mission Command and Bitsuism in the Israeli Defence Forces: Complementary or Contradictory in Today’s Counter-Insurgency Campaign?”, in Allister MacIntyre & Karen Davis (eds.), Dimensions of Military Leadership (Kingston, ON: Canadian Defense Academy Press, 2007) pp. 185- 217.
Non Refereed Articles
"Women in Combat Units: Trends in Western Militaries", BESA Center, BESA Colloquia on Strategy and Diplomacy, No. 26, June 2011.
“Between Blitzkrieg and Operational Art”, Ma’archot, No. 436
“Learning from Foreign Militaries? Who Should the IDF learn from?” With Col. Meir Finkel, head of IDF Ground Forces Doctrine & Concepts Department, Ma’archot, No. 433 (October, 2010) [Hebrew]
“Whether Mission Command?” With Dr. Uzi Ben Shalom, Ma'arachot, No. 418, (April, 2008), [Hebrew.] The article won the Chief of Staff Award for Military Writing
“M&A as a Change Management Process”, Status Executive Magazine, (May, 2001), [Hebrew]
“Enhancing Production Performance Through Teams”, Hamifa'al, (January, 1995), [Hebrew]
“10 Critical Factors for Successful Improvement Teams”, Human Resources Journal, (February, 1994), [Hebrew]
Articles in daily papers: Ha'aretz and Globes.