Strategic Culture; Recognizing Israel's Strategic Challenges in West Asia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor of International Relations, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran (Corresponding author).

2 Associate Professor of International Relations, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.

3 PhD Candidate in International Relations, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.

10.22126/mps.2026.12937.1108

Abstract

Strategic culture is a recent approach in international relations studies that examines the impact of soft components and cultural factors on the strategic actions of states. Israel is among the political regimes in West Asia that focuses on the challenge of survival in matters of national security. This research aims to identify and understand Israel's security strategies through the lens and theoretical framework of strategic culture, seeking to answer how Israel's strategic culture has influenced the creation of its security policymaking challenges in West Asia? Given the exploratory nature of the research, no hypothesis has been designed for it; therefore, the application of the results in the security policymaking processes of West Asian countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, doubles the importance of this research in the current inflamed and tense security conditions of Southwest Asia. As for methodology, a documentary-library study and in-depth interviews were used for data collection, while the rational interpretation and qualitative content analysis methods were employed for analysis. The research findings emphasize that the elements constituting Israel's strategic culture, upon which its security strategies in West Asia rely, can be divided into two categories: objective-tangible propositions and subjective-narrative propositions. These components generate strategic realities across various domains in Israel's policymaking, leading to failures and strategic security challenges for its security apparatus, including military forces and the intelligence community. It is evident that predicting behaviors and policies resulting from security errors provides West Asian countries with the upper hand in the realms of foreign policy, covert diplomacy, and security warfare.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 05 October 2025
  • Revise Date: 20 January 2026
  • Accept Date: 14 March 2026

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