The Military’s Role and Influence in Israel’s Foreign and Security Policy-Making

The purpose of this research is to examine key factors in formatting characteristics of Israeli foreign and security policy-making. In particular, it focuses on the influence of Israel’s military establishment in the foreign and security policy-making process. Since its inception, Israel has faced several national security crises including seven full-scale wars with its neighboring Arab countries and low-intensity wars with Islamist militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. These external and internal security threats have provided the Israeli military establishment with an opportunity to influence and be involved in Israeli foreign and security policy-making while decreasing the roles of foreign and security governmental bodies such as the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Defense, and the National Security Council. Therefore, based on these conditions, this paper will examine the roles and influence of Israel’s military in foreign and security policy-making, as well as its characteristics and implication in Israeli politics.