BIO

Sarah Michael is a second year student at Florida State University from Tampa, Florida. She is majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in Public Administration, and has pursued scholarship and leadership opportunities in addition to certifications in U.S. Intelligence Studies and Emergency Management. She has gained experience as an advocacy intern at the Saint Petersburg Chamber of Commerce where she researched pertinent legislative changes in addition to crafting and managing logistics for regular meetings with city officials to discuss advocacy, sustainability, public policy, education, and transportation. Sarah additionally works as a Claims Specialist at Williams Law Group where she oversees and collects an over three million dollar workload of transportation related legal claims to gain experience in preparation for a career in law serving as an international lawyer.

U.S. Diplomacy: A Case Study of the Behavior of Middle Eastern States

Abstract

The behavior of Middle Eastern and North African states with Israel is extremely varied and fluctuates greatly. What role could United States diplomacy play in this behavior? This research observes visits by American leaders such as the president or secretary of state that were directly related to the Arab-Israeli conflicts in the region among twenty two Middle Eastern nations between the years 1950- 2010, as well as U.S. hosted visits of Arab leaders and political figures. This study then analyzes the behavior of the twenty two observed nations through to measure hostility towards Israel through data collection and a deep review of literature surrounding the convoluted international conflict. This hostility is measured through affects on trade and overall acts of aggression between these nations. There is extensive evidence to support the belief that United States diplomacy has a sizeable impact on the region, and has resulted in increased peace and overall increased amicable relations between the observed Arab states and Israel. These findings further expand one’s knowledge of the region and the overall impacts of diplomacy and soft power on the international community as a whole, and serve to explain the reason behind seemingly random behavioral shifts between these nations.

Keywords: Diplomacy, International Affairs, Middle East, Global Politics