Articles

Israel’s regional strategy: The search for allies

Vostok/Oriens '2017, №2

 
Since its establishment the State of Israel has sought alliances with non-Arab and non-Muslim countries and minorities in the Middle East, as well as Arab states geographically distant from Israel. The article presents and explains this regional orientation. It examines Israel’s strategy of outflanking, both geographically and politically, the hostile Sunni Arab Middle East core that surrounded it in the early decades of its history, a strategy that became a pillar of the Israeli foreign and defense policy. The “periphery doctrine” was a grand strategy, meant to attain the major political-security goal of countering Arab hostility through relations with alternative regional powers and potential allies. The article analyzes Israel’s strategic thinking about the Middle East region, evaluating its success in maintaining both Israel's security and the viability of Israeli-American strategic cooperation. It looks at the dynamics of the periphery doctrine in the years between 1956 and 1983, the importance of the periphery strategy for Israeli Middle East identity.

Keywords: “periphery doctrine”, “northern triangle”, “southern triangle”, “minority doctrine”, “Trident”, Israel’s regional orientation

Pages: С. 104–116