The basics of Israeli foreign policy decision-making during the Benjamin Netanyahu era

A deep understanding of structure and process is important for understanding what to expect from a political system. This article presents a study in the direction of examining the decision-making structure of the Israeli government and shows how the foreign policy of Benjamin Netanyahu's government is formed under the influence of internal factors, which are shown as three concentrated circles of decision-makers, the security network and the identity of the right-wing forces. From this perspective, this process emphasizes the participation of central individuals, social actors and domestic parties and institutions that have shaped the decisions, implementation and outcomes of Israel's foreign policy. The question of this research is, who are the influencing forces on the foreign policy coordinates of the Netanyahu government and to what extent the decisions have been subject to the tendencies of the right-wing camp. The hypothesis of this research, based on the theoretical framework of neoclassical realism, states that there is an attempt to make the priorities of right-wing parties and extremist currents the dominant factor in Israel's national security and foreign policy decisions. The purpose of this study, which has been carried out in an analytical-explanatory method, is to identify a precise framework of Israeli foreign policy decision-making under the leadership of Netanyahu. The research findings indicate that maintaining a balance between the ideological preferences of the right-wing camp on the one hand and paying attention to pragmatic considerations in dealing with the challenges of Israel's peripheral and regional environment has become a significant challenge in the field of Israel's foreign policy.