ABSTRACT
This chapter examines whether it is possible to identify an inherently Jewish approach to foreign policy, from the perspective of international relations. This examination will need the study of momentous examples in the interaction between Jews and external groups, both with regard to a Jewish state and in the Diaspora. Contemporary Jewish aspirations for a state are directly related to the reality that, in the modern era, the nation state is essential for a nation's survival. Realist doctrine holds that the primary interest of the state is self-preservation. In order to secure this, the state must seek power. The chapter considers three dimensions of power augmentation: expansion, alliances, and conduct of war. Judaism like Christianity acknowledged that war is an integral part of political life. It attempted to confine it within self-help boundaries. However, the harsh realities of the world surrounding the Jews from the outset of their encounter with the world forced them to develop a strategy of survival.
