Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Figures
1 Introduction
Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA): Relating the Definitions and Theoretical Approaches to the Units of Analysis
Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Making: Definitions and General Trends
Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA): A Brief Overview of the Theoretical Approaches
Traditional Approaches
Behavioral Approaches
Contemporary Approaches
The Scope of the Book: Relating the Definitions and the Theoretical Approaches to the Units of Analysis
Individual Factors: The Role of the American President as the Major Foreign Policy Maker
Congress: The Major State Co-maker of US Foreign Policy
Non-state Internal Actors in US Foreign Policy: A Constraining Role?
The Relationship Between Mass Media, Public Opinion Interest Groups and Foreign Policy: Synthesizing the Conceptual and Theoretical Debate
Mass Media and Foreign Policy: A Glimpse of the Literature
Mass Media and Foreign Policy: The Theoretical Frameworks
The Relation Between the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Making: A Glance at the Scholarly Debate
The Role of Public Opinion in Foreign Policy: The Theoretical Approaches
The Influential Role of Interest Groups on Policymaking: The Conceptual and Theoretical Explanation
A Conceptual Framework for the Political Influence of Interest Groups: A Multi-stage Process
The Theoretical Explanation to the Interest Groups: Pluralism vs. Neo-corporatism
The Political Impact of Think Tanks: The Scholarly Debate, Methodological Constraints, and Multiple-stream Theory
Scholarly Debates and Methodological Constraints
The Multiple-Streams Theory
2 The Media and US Foreign Policy in the MENA Area: From the War on Terror to the Arab Spring
The Presidential Discourse from 9/11 to the Arab Spring: From a Rhetoric of Fear to a Rhetoric of Democracy
George W. Bush and the Rhetoric of Fear in the Post-9/11 Era: Setting the Agenda for the Media
Iraq: Recycling the Discourse of Fear to Sell the War
The US Media Coverage of the War in Iraq: A Reflection of Bush Propaganda
The Failure and the Fall of Bush’s Propaganda and the Shift in Media’s Focus
Bush and the Perceived Iranian Threat
Barack Obama: A Temporary Change from Bush’s Rhetoric
The Media Coverage of Iran: Different Responses to Obama’s Agenda
The Impact of the Presidential Discourse and the Media on Americans
The Arab Spring and the Change in Presidential Discourse
Obama’s Rhetoric of Democracy: From an Incontestable Success to a Shaky One
3 The US Public Opinion: A Marginal Impact on US Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan and US Intervention in Lebanon (1982–1984): A Complete Disinterest in the American Public Opinion
The Pre-1983 Bombings on US Marines: Reagan’s Disinterest in the Public Disapproval of US Military Presence in Lebanon
The Post-1983 Bombings on US Marines: A Continual Disinterest in Public Opinion
George H. W. Bush and the Gulf War (1990–1991): A Halfhearted Appeal to the Public Opinion
Bill Clinton and Iraq: A Strong Public Opinion Support
George W Bush and the War on Terror: The Rise and the Fall of the Presidential Manipulation of US Public Opinion
9/11 and Fear: An Insidious Presidential Manipulation of the Public Opinion
The War on Iraq: A Strong Support of US Public Opinion
The Post-War Era: The Fall of Bush Rhetoric and the Shift in the US Public Opinion
Barack Obama and the Arab Uprisings: A Partial Appeal to Public Opinion
The American Intervention in Libya: A Skeptical but Supportive Public Opinion
Obama and the Syrian Crisis: An Unprecedented Public Opinion Impact on the President’s War Plans
4 Interest Groups: An Imperfect Impact
Interest Groups: Definitions and Classification
Interest Groups: A Broadly Defined Concept
Interest Groups: A Variously Categorized Concept
Case Selection, Data Collection, and Methodology
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
AIPAC’s Lobbying Strategies: A Multivariate Grass-root Approach to Shaping and Dominating the US Public Opinion
Monitoring and Influencing the Media: An Effective Tactic to Shape the Public Opinion
Winning the War of Ideas: Toward Controlling the World of Think Tanks in Washington
Keeping an Eye on Academia: A Less Effective Tactic
Targeting Specific Communities: A Direct Contact with Americans
Gaining Access to Policymakers: Various Means, But One End
Gaining Access to Members of Congress: A Multifaceted Strategy
Gaining Access to Presidents and Presidential Candidates: Money, Turnout, and Personnel
AIPAC and US Foreign Policy in the MENA Area: An Imperfect Influence
Bush and Obama Versus AIPAC: The Battle Over Shaping the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
Bush, and Obama Versus AIPAC: The Ultimate Triumph of Diplomacy on the Iran Nuclear Program
5 Think Tanks: A Circuitous Impact on US Foreign Policy
The Typologies of Think Tanks in the US
Universities Without Students/Academic Think Tanks
Contract Think Tanks
Advocacy Think Tanks
The Impact of US Think Tanks on US Foreign Policy in the MENA Region: Case Studies
William J. Clinton (1993–2001) and the Shift in US Foreign Policy: A Significant But Ambivalent Impact of Think Tanks
Clinton’s Staff and the World of Think Tanks: A Significant Recruitment
Clinton’s Staff and the Types of Think Tanks They Come From: A Balanced Combination
Clinton’s Policies in the MENA Region: From “Assertive Multilateralism” to a Unilateral Approach
George W. Bush (2001–2009): A Circuitous Impact of Conservative Think Tanks
The Bush Staff and Their Affiliations with Think Tanks: A Conservative Dominance
Bush’s Policies in the MENA Region: A Reflection of PNAC’s Policy Recommendations
Bush War on Terror: Different Recommendations from Different Think Tanks
Bush and Pro-Israel Think Tanks: A Significant Recruitment
Barack Obama (2009–2017): A Unique Case in Many Ways
Obama Staff: Think Tanks and The Obamians
Obama’s Policies and Think Tanks’ Recommendations: A Striking Similarity
Summary and Conclusion
References
Index