Israel’s 75th Anniversary in the Mirror of Foreign Policy: An Approach to Periodization

Abstract

The paper focuses on specifics of Israel’s foreign policy periodization since the foundation of the state in May 1948 till the beginning of 2023, characterized by the return to power of Benjamin Netanyahu — the chairman of the Likud party. The author analyzes existing approaches to identifying stages in the history of Israel's relations with foreign countries, and also studies the degree of mutual dependence between the domestic and foreign policies of the Israeli leadership in 75 years. The research is based on the concept, suggested by the professor of international politics at the City University of London Amnon Aran, based not on the chronological, but on the problematic principle of periodization. By 2013, when this specialist completed his analysis, he identified three stages of Israeli foreign policy: Etatist, ethno-national and globalist. The turning points for the first two stages were 1973 and 1985. The nomination of the third stage is driven mostly by the peculiarities of Israeli economic development, which influenced decisions regarding the Middle East peace process and the growing interest of the state in expanding its presence in Asia. The paper also examines the evolution of the Israeli leadership’s understanding of the term “mamlakhtiyut” (statehood), the specifics of the “domestication” of Israeli foreign policy in comparison with the experiences of European and Middle Eastern states, as well as the influence of NGOs on the use of military force as a foreign policy instrument. Finally, author’s interpretation of the current period is proposed. It is marked by a high degree of personification of foreign policy. The increased importance of the establishment of friendly personal contacts with foreign leaders by Israeli prime ministers in recent years was caused by the task of strengthening popularity among the electorate in the context of a series of early elections to the Knesset. In addition, the formulation of the country's course in the international arena was significantly influenced by the ministers of foreign affairs, their previous experience and views on the distribution of powers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with related departments.