Chatham House
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Israel’s perpetual mobilization: The limits of Netanyahu’s ‘Super-Sparta’ model
EXPERT COMMENT
Most Israelis support continued conflict with Iran and Hezbollah. But polls show fewer believe in the government’s ability to deliver victory.
As of April 2026, Israel’s security landscape is defined by a profound paradox. While the national mood is characterized by strategic fatigue due to a lack of decisive victories, Israeli society still maintains significant support for the multi-front campaign against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
However, this endurance is being tested by a government attempting to institutionalize a state of permanent low/mid-intensity warfare – a vision labelled the ‘Super-Sparta’ model by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Recent polling suggests that while the public supports the war’s objectives, it increasingly resents the current government’s inability to define or deliver a decisive end-state. That has left the governing coalition unable to use the war to grow its support. Meanwhile, the opposition is gaining a few seats but still appears unlikely to form a government in this year’s elections without cooperation with Arab parties.
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Original article link: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/04/israels-perpetual-mobilization-limits-netanyahus-super-sparta-model
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