Light unto the Nations Through Arms Sales: Israel’s Arms Diplomacy Goals,Achievements,and Limitations

Abstract

Israel is currently one of the 10 leading arms exporters in the world. Although arms deals are a major factor in its foreign policy, surprisingly, the academic research on the topic is quite limited. This study examines its arms sales as a major foreign policy tool, arguing that Israel uses arms exports to pursue its economic and political interests and to strengthen its bilateral relations worldwide. However, doing so strengthens regimes with poor human rights records and provides limited political achievements. Therefore, the article discusses this policy’s nature to assess the extent of achieving its goals. It concludes that despite Israel’s arms diplomacy success in improving its international prestige as a middle power arms supplier and strengthening its bilateral ties, still, it raises questions about its bilateral relations with dubious regimes and their consequences on its status as a Western state.