Religion as a factor in foreign policy: The case of Israel

As the Vestphalia system dominated the modern international relations, religion was not seen as a determining factor in foreign policy. However, it continued to exist in the international relations, though as a tool in the modern era. The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and many religion-based international organizations later marked a new era in which religion has started to be effective in foreign policy again. After the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA, religion has returned to international relations obviously. Today, it plays an important role in foreign policy as reflected by the impacts of religious thoughts and the beliefs of the policy makers, status of sacred spaces and internal religious conflicts on foreign policy decisions. Being the founding ideology of the State of Israel, Zionism is built on a secular basis for the approval of the international community and aimed to establish a state for for all Jews in the world. Founded for that purpose, Israel appears to follow a foreign policy strategy based on the Torah. On the basis of Torah, Jews act with consciousness of continuing existence, promised land, and being the elected people. Keywords: Israel, religion, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis