Lobbyists, Public Relations and “Malign Activities”: The JCPOA as a Case Study of Foreign Influence
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In July 2015, the P5+1 announced the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known colloquially as the “Iran nuclear deal,” an agreement between Iran and the P5+1 to place limits on the Iranian nuclear program. The agreement was controversial not only within American domestic politics, but also in the eyes of American allies in the Middle East that are commonly thought to exercise significant influence over American foreign policy. Using the JCPOA as a case study on foreign influence in American policymaking, this thesis analyzes the influence strategies of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran from 2013 to 2018 while assessing the efficacy of these strategies. Based on the theoretical literature, this thesis proposes four different pathways to influence: direct and indirect lobbying, and direct and indirect information operations. As a result of forty interviews with former government officials, ambassadors, policy advocates, and regional experts, this thesis finds that while foreign influence does not drive US foreign policy, it can act as an important intervening factor, raising or lowering the costs of political decision-making and amplifying existing preferences within the American political system. Thus, this thesis provides a nuanced perspective on foreign influence in American policymaking, showing the real impact that such campaigns can have while eschewing the idea that American policymakers lack agency in important foreign policy matters.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 23, 2020 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Metzger, Bryan |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Kahl, Colin |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation |
Subjects
| Subject | Center for International Security and Cooperation |
|---|---|
| Subject | foreign influence |
| Subject | Iran |
| Subject | Saudi Arabia |
| Subject | Israel |
| Subject | JCPOA |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Metzger, Bryan. (2020). Lobbyists, Public Relations and “Malign Activities”: The JCPOA as a Case Study of Foreign Influence. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/pv758ct6063
Collection
Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies, Theses
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- brymetzger@gmail.com
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...