PARTISAN REALIGNMENT IN U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: EXAMINING SHIFTS IN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL DURING THE OBAMA, TRUMP AND BIDEN ADMINISTRATIONS

Abstract

This paper focuses on the development of the partisan changes in the United States position with respect to Israel during the Obama administration , Trump and Biden presidency. The significance of Israel as a foreign policy issue has been a decades-long agreement between Republicans and Democrats, and it had been a constant in the American foreign policy. However, in the twenty first century, this agreement came apart, with the Republicans rallying firmly around Israel, and Democrats becoming increasingly ambivalent and even sympathetic to Palestinians. Using the comparative-historical analysis, the data on public opinion, and the secondary literature, the paper follows how the U.S. presidential leadership and the ideological changes within the country transformed the partisan dynamics. As analyzed, Obama saw a need to re-calibrate his relationship with Israel, but this move created tensions; Trump has had impactful pro-Israel policies not seen before, which has further polarized his party; and Biden has been taking a balancing act as centrist but this has caused a divided Democratic Party that is under pressure.The article concludes that while bipartisan commitment to Israel’s security persists, the partisan framing of U.S. Israel alliance threatens the credibility of the special relationship and complicates prospects for peace diplomacy in the Middle East.