Israel's foreign policy is not overly famous for its employment of religious soft power. Instead, Israel puts a strong emphasis on protecting its national security in a regional and international environment which it perceives as overwhelmingly hostile through direct diplomacy and alliances. However, Dr. Claudia Baumgart-Ochse, senior researcher and editorial director of the Peace Report at Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, argues that in the context of certain civil society groups in the United States (Israel’s most important ally), Israel seeks to influence these communities’ opinions and actions through the use of religious soft power.
Claudia Baumgart-Ochse will join Berkley Center Senior Research Fellow and Geopolitics of Religious Soft Power Director Peter Mandaville to discuss this thesis. This will be the fourth conversation in the ongoing Religion in Foreign Policy comparative series, which examines the use of religious soft power across multiple world regions and a diverse range of faith traditions.
For more details and registration, click here.
Date: February 17th, 19:00–20:00 p.m.