Israel and the Cold War: Diplomacy, Strategy and the Policy of the Periphery at the United Nations

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In the wake of its creation in 1948, the state of Israel was confronted with the challenge of establishing foreign relations with key players in the region, in the face of opposition from most of the Arab states. Howard Patten explores the genesis and development of Israel's foreign relations with Iran, Turkey and Ethiopia, known as the 'Policy of the Periphery'. Highlighting the pragmatism and Realpolitik at the heart of this policy, Israel and the Cold War analyses the national interests and mutual concerns which shaped relations and strategy at the United Nations during the critical moments of the establishment of the State of Israel and the following forty years, before the ramifications of the Iranian Revolution became apparent. During this period, Israel made efforts to create pragmatic alliances behind closed doors at the UN, even as ambivalence and hostility reigned in the public sphere. Patten thus examines the implications that the Cold War system of ideological combat had on these attempts to maintain implicit, yet cordial understandings, as world events - such as the Suez Crisis of 1956, successive crises over Cyprus and the Ethiopian and Iranian Revolutions - tested the 'Policy of the Periphery'. 'Israel and the Cold War' traces the development of Israel's relations with these three states, from their initial beginnings to consolidation, then rejection and subsequent efforts to realign. Patten highlights the extensive diplomatic and military reverberations that occurred throughout the region, and the way in which these were played out at the UN. Based primarily on UN documents, this book is a vital primary resource for those researching the period in question and the formulation of foreign policy in the Middle East.

Reviews

'The "peripheral policy" is an important, if all too-often forgotten, as pect of Israeli foreign policy. It is also a policy that has veryobvious and important relevance in the current era, just as it did during its formal period in the Cold War. The Israeli relationship with Iran and Turkey still dominates the regional, and even international agenda and this book though by no means claiming to be the first to deal with Israeli-Turkish-Iranian ties, has a distinct perspective- it looks at the multi-faceted relationships through the prism of the United Nations. Comparing and contrasting the UN approaches of the parties involved with their other public (and private) policies on the same issues. In this way the work adds value to the general debate on Israeli foreign policy and Israeli relations with Turkey and Iran, as well as Ethiopia. As such, I believe it will be of interest to students and scholars dealing with Israeli foreign policy.' Professor Rory Miller, Department of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King's College, London. 'Howard A. Patten has chosen to explore an important, albeit surprisingly neglected, aspect of the "peripheral policy"- the political and diplomatic manoeuvring and wrangling at the United Nations. The result is a well-researched and argued piece of work that makes a real contribution to the field through the utilization of hitherto untapped documentation and original line of argument.' Professor Moshe Gat, Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. In this book, Dr Patten explores Israel's "peripheral policy" of relying on non-contiguous and non-Arab, mainly Muslim, states- notably Turkey and Iran (but also Christian Ethiopia). I have little doubt that it will become a standard text for students of Middle Eastern interntional affairs in general and Israeli foreign policy in particular Professor Efraim Kash, Department of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King's College London and Editor of Middle East Quarterly.

Author Bio

Dr. Howard A. Patten has BA and MA degrees in Jewish History and Social Sciences from University College London and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD focussing on Israeli Foreign Policy from Kings College London. He has written and lectured extensively on Middle Eastern affairs, and tutors clients in Politics, History, Hebrew and International Relations, both in the UK and around the globe.