Understanding Israel’s Foreign Policy from the Perspective of Identity and Security

The objective of this research paper is to apply an integration of two main theoretical frameworks, realism and constructivism, to explore the dynamics of Israel’s perception of threat and security policies. By employing Stacy J. Barkin’s realist constructivism, this paper signifies the importance of this approach in understanding Israel’s policy toward a major challenge: the Palestinian issue. With the help of realist constructivism, our insights into Israel’s threat perceptions and decision-making are enhanced. Thus, understanding the behavior of the Jewish state becomes less daunting. Using process tracing and discourse analysis as methodologies, the study applies two case studies to explore how identity and security perceptions shape the policy of Israel. Realists have always regarded the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example that signifies their theory. The findings of this paper debunk such an argument by proving that realist constructivism is more helpful in understanding this conflict.