The Israel Lobby and US Policy in the Middle East: The Iraq War, The Egyptian Arab Spring, and Iran’s Nuclear Program

Abstract

The influence of the so-called 'Israel Lobby', a diverse coalition of American organizations that aim to affect pro-Israel policy, has been hotly-debated for several decades, and descriptions of the lobby's importance to US foreign policy range from 'irrelevant' to 'axiomatic'. In an effort to understand the current debate, this project examines the relationship between the Israel Lobby and US foreign policy in three cases: the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, the legacy of the Arab Spring in postMubarak Egypt, and US-Israeli efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Throughout the paper, I draw on primary and secondary historical resources and international relations theory in order to explore the US-Israel relationship through changing domestic and international circumstances and to better understand the implications of this relationship for the prospects of a more peaceful dynamic in the Middle East. I conclude that, while still a significant factor in American foreign policy, the influence of the Israel Lobby is transforming and, in some cases, stagnating as the United States moves toward a narrower, more pragmatic and therefore less ideological strategy in the Middle East.