Review of Samaan, Jean-Loup, Israel’s Foreign Policy beyond the Arab World: Engaging the Periphery (original) (raw)

Israel’s Periphery Doctrine: Prospects for Defining and Studying a Foreign Policy Practice

Politické vedy, 2020

Israeli 2010s foreign policy is marked by development of ties – in a wide range of spheres of cooperation – with various countries in Israel’s neighbourhood and beyond. This policy is often compared to, and seen as, a continuation of the “periphery doctrine”, launched in the late 1950s. While some experts contest mere appropriateness of the term “periphery doctrine” in analyses of contemporary phenomena, others argue for broadening of the scope of its understanding. This article discusses several authors’ stances on the main contentious issues regarding application of the term, highlighting contradictions between them and drawing conclusions on the analytical consequences of their choices. Moreover, it overviews the two existing attempts of applying international relations’ theoretical approaches in studying the phenomenon and reflects on other possibly applicable explanatory frameworks. As a result, this work suggests that the issue is comprehensively approached through Copenhagen school methodology. The “periphery doctrine” seems to still be a relevant instrument for analyses of Israeli foreign relations, though the term must be used cautiously and with apt methodological rigour.

Israel and the Arab World -Renewal of the Alliance of the Periphery

Athens Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 2019

During the seventy years of its existence, Israel"s relations with the Arab world have experienced a radical turnabout. What began as deadly hostility to the existence of the Jewish state passed over into resignation and a willingness to coexist, even if this was the result of having no choice. Recently, a new stage evolved, with some Arab states willing to develop ties of cooperation that point in the direction of a strategic security alliance. In the 1950s, Israel"s partners to the "Alliance of the Periphery," were the non-Arab states on the periphery of the Middle East, which had to confront the rising Arab nationalism of the time and its undisputed leader, Gamal Abd el-Nasser. Sixty years later, the periphery states, or at least Iran, and to some extent, Turkey, have become influential players in the regional arena, in such a way as to represent a challenge to Israel and many of its neighboring Arab states. Israel came into existence finding itself in a prolonged and apparently insoluble conflict with the Arab states, but now, some of the latter have become Israel"s partners in face of the Iranian threat and the Turkish challenge. The present "alliance" reflects the changing face of the Middle East and the deep processes it is undergoing. At the head of these is the decline of Arabism and the decline of the Arab world, while on the other side, Iran and Turkey, and Israel too, are rising in influence and power. Indeed, it is these three countries that today dictate the path the Middle East will take.

The limits of Israel’s periphery doctrine: Lessons from the Caucasus and Central Asia

Mediterranean Politics, 2019

Recently, Israel has resuscitated its ‘periphery doctrine’: the attempted circumvention of Arab hostility, by cultivating relations with other nearby actors. Despite the expanding literature on the periphery doctrine, no study has delineated Israel’s contemporary relations with the Caucasus and Central Asia. This deficit is conspicuous, because earlier works noted Israel’s employment of the periphery doctrine to create durable relations, across both regions. This assessment contrasts with non-regional literature, which stresses the periphery doctrine’s limited utility. This essay therefore provides an updated assessment of Israel’s regional ties. We argue that Israel has, in fact, failed to create long-term partnerships in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Thus, these cases illuminate the periphery doctrine’s deficiencies.

Israel's Geopolitical Relationship with the World

This paper analyzes and compares Israel's relations with regions of the World such as Latin America, Middle East, South Africa, India and China. It flushes out patterns in these relationships such as Defense cooperation, the spider web theory of relations. It also talks about the pattern of how Israel's relationships establish themselves starting on lower level agricultural development and development schemes up to defense cooperation and arms/training for the regime.

A Passage to Asia: The Rise of Israel-Asia Relations since the 1990s and Their Current Nature

In Israel-Asia Relations in the Twenty-First Century: The Search for Partners in a Changing World. Edited by Yoram Evron and Rotem Kowner (pp. 1–25). Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2023

By the early 2020s, Israel came to regard Asia as a vital pillar of its international relations as well as a crucial element in its future development. It currently maintains diplomatic relations with no fewer than 21 Asian countries beyond the confines of the Middle East, including the largest and most populous ones. Asia also makes up about a quarter of Israel’s international trade, and some three-quarters of its arms export. This is a rather new situation, as this continent had heretofore never occupied a significant place in Israel’s economic affairs, let alone in its future vision. Incredibly, it was only some thirty years ago that this state of affairs was entirely different. At that point, Israel had no diplomatic relations with either China or India, whereas other significant players in this continent largely ignored it. This chapter seeks to lay the groundwork for the entire volume by presenting the main developments of these relations; inquiring into and theorizing about their nature at present; and presenting the aims and structure of the book as a whole.

Israeli-Arab Relations; from Dream to Reality

2019

Abstract:This study intends to review Israel's efforts to increase political and economic relations with Arab countries. It is clear that most Arab countries did not have any ties with Israel since the 1980s, and only two Egyptian states had established political relations with Israel since the 1973 war. But over the past few years, and especially after the start of the third millennium, a new trend has been formed by the Israeli authorities, which is still ongoing. This exit-isolation process is aimed at establishing friendships with Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and other Arab league members. However, the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution and the initiation of a new ideology in the Middle East brought the new Israeli regional strategy closer to speed, and Iran gradually became the main enemy of the two sides’ in the third millen-nium. It seems that the Arab countries have forgotten their aspirations towards the Pal-estinian people and...