Overview

For over sixty years the state of Israel has proved adept at practising clandestine diplomacy--about which little is known, as one might expect. These hitherto undisclosed episodes in Israel's diplomatic history are revealed for the first time by the contributors to this volume, who explore how relations based upon patronage and personal friendships, as well as ties born from kinship and realpolitik both informed the creation of the state and later defined Israel's relations with a host of actors, both state and non-state. The authors focus on the extent to which Israel's clandestine diplomacies have indeed been regarded as purely functional and sub- ordinate to a realist quest for security amid the perceived hostility of a predominantly Muslim-Arab world, or have in fact proved to be manifestations of a wider acceptance--political, social and cultural--of a Jewish sovereign state as an intrinsic part of the Middle East. They also discuss whether clandestine diplomacy has been more effective in securing Israeli objectives than reliance upon more formal diplomatic ties constrained by inter- national legal obligations and how this often complex and at times contradictory matrix of clandestine relationships continues to influence perceptions of Israel's foreign policy.

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9780199330669

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Reviews

In Israel's Clandestine Diplomacies an impressive set of authors shed light on hitherto dark parts of Israel's foreign policy over the years and offer new insights on more well-known periods. The result is a balanced volume that provides a fresh look at several vital chapters in Israel's history and conveys the rewards and risks of secret diplomacy in general. --Daniel Byman, Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and author of A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism Jones and Petersen have assembled an accomplished volume of extraordinary research by leading experts, who raise the curtain on previously unknown chapters in Israel's diplomatic activities. The essays in this volume provide insightful and timely analyses of this unacknowledged, yet vital, component of Israeli foreign policy. -- Uzi Rabi, Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Tel Aviv University This timely book presents a sweeping international history of twentieth century Israeli covert diplomacy in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Superbly edited, leading scholars bring a range of disciplinary perspectives, grounded in deep contextual analysis of archives and in-depth interviews to provide a panoramic view of the breaches and continuities in Israel's clandestine international affairs. For students, scholars and Middle East watchers, this is essential reading. -- Michael Kerr, Professor of Conflict Studies and Director of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King's College London

Author Information

Clive Jones is Professor of Middle East Studies and International Politics at the University of Leeds and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Tore T. Petersen is Professor of International and Diplomatic History at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

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