A Special Relationship: Pro-Israel Influence on US Foreign Policy - an internal perspective
Author
Apitz, Marie Bladt
Term
4. term
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-01-02
Abstract
This thesis investigates why U.S. foreign policy has consistently favored Israel—and why this tendency intensified under President Trump. It builds on a scholarly shift from external explanations (e.g., geostrategy) toward internal American factors. The research question is: Why has U.S. foreign policy been persistently pro-Israel in general—and particularly during the Trump administration? To address this, the study constructs an explanatory model combining theories of influence elites with political priming of public opinion. The model identifies several elite groups as key influencers: pro-Israel lobby organizations, wealthy individuals with pro-Israel interests, members of the political elite in both the executive and legislative branches, and key political and military advisors. Using an in-depth empirical case of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), the analysis shows that a complex elite network worked to secure withdrawal. It also finds that non-political elites offered strong incentives to political actors, likely factoring into the President’s decision, and that public opinion was treated as secondary, with efforts focused on shaping views among Trump’s core supporters. These findings support the growing scholarship emphasizing internal U.S. drivers of pro-Israel policy, while acknowledging that a full understanding requires continued examination of both internal and external factors.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvorfor USA’s udenrigspolitik vedvarende er pro-israelsk – og særligt hvorfor dette blev forstærket under Trump. Udgangspunktet er et skifte i forskningen fra eksterne forklaringer (fx geostrategi) til interne, amerikanske faktorer. Specialets forskningsspørgsmål er: Hvorfor har USA’s udenrigspolitik konsekvent været pro-israelsk generelt – og under Trump i særdeleshed? For at besvare dette konstrueres en forklarende model, der kombinerer teori om indflydelseseliter med politisk priming af den offentlige opinion. Modellen peger på flere elitetyper som centrale påvirkere: pro-israelske lobbyorganisationer, velhavende enkeltpersoner med pro-israelske interesser, politiske eliter i både den udøvende og lovgivende gren samt nøglemæssige politiske og militære rådgivere. Gennem en dybdegående empirisk analyse af Trumps beslutning om at trække USA ud af atomaftalen med Iran (JCPOA) påvises, at et komplekst netværk af eliter arbejdede for tilbagetrækningen. Analysen viser desuden, at ikke-politiske eliter tilbød stærke incitamenter til politiske beslutningstagere, og at disse sandsynligvis indgik i præsidentens beslutningsgrundlag. Offentlighedens holdning fremstod som sekundær for den politiske elite, der i stedet søgte at forme meningerne hos Trumps kernevælgere for at sikre opbakning. Resultaterne understøtter den voksende litteratur, der fremhæver interne, amerikanske faktorer som væsentlige drivkræfter bag den pro-israelske kurs, samtidig med at specialet understreger, at både interne og eksterne forhold bør undersøges videre for fuldt ud at forstå den vedvarende støtte til Israel.
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