TITLE:
Playing Pin the War on the Lobby
AUTHOR:
Ned Lazarus, American University
SUGGESTED CITATION:
Ned Lazarus (2006) "Playing Pin the War on the Lobby", The Forum: Vol.
4: No. 1, Article 5.
http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol4/iss1/art5
ABSTRACT:
International Relations (IR) “Realists” John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen
Walt have entered the realm of identity politics. Their maiden voyage
inside the “black box” of the state, a recent paper entitled “The Israel
Lobby,” is likely their most famous but least credible work. In
apportioning blame for the US invasion of Iraq, they dismiss any
influence of energy dependence or geopolitical interests, while
attributing causal responsibility to an expansively defined “Israel
Lobby,” claims as specious as they are ethnically charged. Where their
critique of US and Israeli policies is right, it suggests that key parts
of their theories of international politics are wrong. In ivory tower
IR, “The Israel Lobby” represents a theoretical transgression on the
part of orthodox “Realists.” In real-world politics, Mearsheimer and
Walt’s essay presents d/Democratic opponents of the US invasion of Iraq
and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank with the opportunity to
distinguish principled protest from scapegoating.
http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol4/iss1/art5/
[Guest login required] PDF, 12 pgs. Note: Filling in the 'institution'
field is not necessary
