Pinilla Rey

The United States has made Israel one of its most important strategic partners in the world. Initially, the relationship was based on the containment of communism and the Soviet Union in the region. Today, the bilateral relationship encompasses - among other things - political and military interests: the containment of radical Islamism, perceived by both states as a permanent threat, requires extensive economic and arms cooperation. To sustain such spending - which accounts for one-fifth of the US annual humanitarian aid budget - a powerful pro-Israeli lobby has been consolidated and has largely influenced US foreign policy. A judicious analysis of the way in which the relationship between the two states functions therefore requires taking into account both domestic factors, such as institutions and cultural strategy, and systemic factors, such as the very sustainability of the international system. This book develops such an analysis.