AbstractsPolitical Science

This thesis is meant as a contribution to resolving the puzzle regarding the actual clout of pro-Israel U.S. special interest groups by studying their influence in relation to the Middle East Peace Process. This author builds on his first hand experiences of living in Palestine and the U.S., and analytical tools he has acquired by studying the role of United Nations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as U.S. history, politics and society. This study combines a qualitative analysis of U.S. official policies toward the Peace Process from 1991-2011, with a quantitative investigation of the Peace Process-related activities of pro-Israel U.S. special interest. The quantitative data is collected from public opinion polls, the Congressional Record, government documents, the reports of the Federal Election Commission, and the monthly publications of the non-partisan Washington Report on Middle East Affairs from 1989-2011. The qualitative data is based on experts’ and scholarly reflections about the Peace Process and the influence of special interest groups on the making of U.S. foreign policy.