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The U.S. – Israel “Special Relations”: Structural Foundations and Trump Factor
 
PIIS013122270013190-0-1
DOI10.20542/0131-2227-2020-64-10-40-51
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Alexey Davydov 
Occupation: Research Associate
Affiliation: Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO)
Address: 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation
Liudmila Samarskaia
Occupation: Junior Researcher
Affiliation: Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO)
Address: 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation
Journal nameMirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia
EditionVolume 64 Issue 10
Pages40-51
Abstract

The article examines the evolution of U.S.-Israel special relations in order to estimate the scale and longevity of Trump’s policies effects towards Israel. By the start of the 2016 presidential electoral campaign, the state of bilateral relations had been frequently considered as damaged due to the decisions of the Obama administration to engage in negotiations with Iran and to abstain from vetoing the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334. Contrary to that, Donald Trump was consistent in his absolutely anticritical and pro-Israel positions, realizing all his initial promises regarding the Jewish state. By the end of his first term, he significantly shifted the well-established framework of the American traditional policies towards Israel. This raises a question on whether such dynamics might become a pattern in U.S.-Israel relations, and what might be the prospects for these relations being seriously determined by the U.S. internal polarization. The study covers the dynamics in key areas that define the strategic structure of the U.S.-Israel partnership. The first part of the article addresses the trends in bilateral and international relations that originated in the late 19th century and eventually led to the establishment of allied relations. Those trends are: a gradual rise of mutual importance in foreign policy strategies of both states; institutionalization and strengthening of pro-Israeli political forces in the United States. Both trends impeded a crisis in bilateral relations after the end of the Cold War. The second part concludes that since 1967, both states refer to each other as key strategic allies with common values, and that the range of their cooperation was framed in a specific spectrum of topics, most of which were Israeli-centered. The third part analyses the activity of the main pro-Israeli lobby groups in their support or opposition to the U.S. electoral campaigns and Congress legislature, and the views of the American public towards Israel. The authors find that the U.S. polarizations trends also affected the views in the lobby, but it never reflected upon the final legislature process, which is mostly pro-Israel. The fourth part addresses the asymmetrical nature of bilateral cooperation in trade, security and in the bodies of the United Nations. Finally, the fifth part of the article covers the policies of Obama and Trump administrations and the attitudes towards them of the main political forces in Israel and the United States. Those attitudes reflect the formation of two camps in both countries with polar incompatible views on the key issues of bilateral relations. The authors conclude that due to the structural asymmetry of the U.S.-Israel relations, their dynamics will be mostly defined by the changes in the grand strategy and the polarization of the United States. Nevertheless, the complexity and a large number of influential groups interested in maintaining the exceptional level of cooperation will prevent from undermining the structural foundations of the U.S.-Israel special relations in the foreseeable future.

Keywordsspecial relationship, USA, Israel, U.S.-Israel relations, foreign policy, Trump, Obama, Netanyahu, Middle East
Received25.12.2020
Publication date25.12.2020
Number of characters33473
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Table of contents

ГЕНЕЗИС И СТРАТЕГИЧЕСКАЯ ЗНАЧИМОСТЬ “ОСОБЫХ” ОТНОШЕНИЙ
ПРОИЗРАИЛЬСКИЙ ЛОББИЗМ
ДВУСТОРОННИЕ ВЗАИМОСВЯЗИ
ФАКТОР ТРАМПА
ВЫВОДЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВА
1 Отношения между Соединенными Штатами и Государством Израиль (ГИ) характеризуются глубокой и всесторонней взаимосвязанностью. Их качество подчеркивается высоко развитой двусторонней военно-технической кооперацией, торгово-экономическим сотрудничеством, а также тесными политическими и общественными связями, прошедшими более чем полувековое испытание временем.
2 На протяжении нескольких десятилетий взаимное видение обеих стран в их долгосрочных внешнеполитических стратегиях строилось на понимании общности ключевых и порой жизненно важных интересов. Двусторонние противоречия по палестинскому вопросу, иранскому фактору и наследию арабо-израильского конфликта до последнего времени удерживались в определенных рамках, за пределы которых правительства обоих государств стремились не выходить, чтобы не портить общий характер отношений.
3 Во втором десятилетии XXI в. произошел качественный отход от этих ограничений. При администрации Б. Обамы, а затем и Д. Трампа Соединенными Штатами предпринимались шаги, которые шли вразрез с традиционными американскими политическими подходами в отношении Израиля. Продемонстрированное за последнее пятилетие, пожалуй, беспрецедентное колебание двусторонних политических отношений от одной крайности к другой актуализирует ряд исследовательских вопросов. Во-первых, свидетельствует ли динамика трансформации структурных основ двусторонних отношений последних десятилетий о системных изменениях в политике стран друг к другу? Под структурными основами авторы понимают генезис и текущее состояние взаимного видения стран в их внешнеполитических стратегиях, отстаивание интересов друг друга на международной арене, а также характер общественно-политических, торгово-экономических, военно-политических связей. Во-вторых, с какими вызовами ожидаемо столкнутся обе страны в отношении друг друга в ближайшей перспективе после президентских выборов США 2020 г.?
4 Тематика американо-израильских отношений традиционно находит широкое освещение в научной литературе с самого образования Государства Израиль. Так, среди отечественных мэтров американистики отдельно следует отметить работы В.И. Лана [1], А.К. Кислова [2], всесторонне освещавших роль Израиля во внешней и еврейской общинах во внутренней политике США. Отечественные исследователи и сегодня чрезвычайно активно анализируют ключевые проблемы спектра отношений США и ГИ. Среди них особо выделяются классические работы И.Д. Звягельской [3], Т.А. Карасовой [4], а также всесторонне освещающие актуальную американо-израильскую проблематику статьи Л.Р. Хлебниковой [5]. Среди израильских исследователей темы стоит отметить Э. Инбара, Э. Лермана [6], ряд специалистов из Института исследования национальной безопасности (INSS) [7]. Отдельного упоминания заслуживает книга 2012 г. американских и израильских авторов “Израиль и США. Шесть десятилетий американо-израильских отношений” [8].

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