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isayyo2: Good examples. Small size and a strong awareness of vulnerability probably serves to strip away much of the fuzzy thinking. Of course, universal conscription ultimately affects the calibre of a nation's reserve force as well. So the quality and type of education provided for the citizenry matters.In Canada, about 17% of the working-age population had post-secondary degrees. At ~25%, Israel is a bit higher. But scientist and engineers make up 13.5% of Israelis and only 0.04% of Canadians - with a population 3.5 x the size of Israel's (going by industry complaints, Singapore also has a shortage of engineers).So, no big mystery as to why Israel is better than Canada at developing its own military equipment (or efficiently adapting existing equipment to save funds for priority procurement). My point is that the success of unification is also heavily dependent upon the underlying capabilities of a particular population. Emphasize a 'service economy' as Canada has and you end up with citizens able to run a till or suggest new banking fees - not people who can design the Iron Dome or devise an Achzarit HAPC adaptation.
isayyo2: Good examples. Small size and a strong awareness of vulnerability probably serves to strip away much of the fuzzy thinking. Of course, universal conscription ultimately affects the calibre of a nation's reserve force as well. So the quality and type of education provided for the citizenry matters.
In Canada, about 17% of the working-age population had post-secondary degrees. At ~25%, Israel is a bit higher. But scientist and engineers make up 13.5% of Israelis and only 0.04% of Canadians - with a population 3.5 x the size of Israel's (going by industry complaints, Singapore also has a shortage of engineers).
So, no big mystery as to why Israel is better than Canada at developing its own military equipment (or efficiently adapting existing equipment to save funds for priority procurement). My point is that the success of unification is also heavily dependent upon the underlying capabilities of a particular population. Emphasize a 'service economy' as Canada has and you end up with citizens able to run a till or suggest new banking fees - not people who can design the Iron Dome or devise an Achzarit HAPC adaptation.
