Yair Lapid and the opportunity of the Foreign Ministry
Gabi Ashkenazi breathed new life into the Foreign Ministry when he took charge in May 2020. His successor, Yair Lapid, is expected to carry on the momentum.
Global trends underscore the strategic need for a strong Foreign Ministry. The destabilization of the international system continues, especially given the Sino-American rivalry undermining the economic achievements of globalization in recent decades. At the same time, the intensifying climate crisis will demand significant shifts in many countries’ socioeconomic order and, as a consequence, in the international system.
Pressure on Israel from the two superpowers – the US and China – is expected to increase as their competition intensifies. At the same time, Washington, our close ally, is signaling its waning interest in the Middle East as other foreign and domestic challenges vie for its attention.
Yet another factor in the opportunities facing the Foreign Ministry is the renewed vigor of the diplomatic profession. The US and Britain are bolstering their foreign ministries – the British by integrating their Department of International Development into the Foreign Office and the Biden
administration by committing to “reinvigorate” the State Department in a bid to reinstate US leadership of international alliances.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, the decline of foreign ministries over the past two decades is in part a result of globalization and a weakening of nation-states. However, recent months have heralded an institutional strengthening of nation-states vis-à-vis the forces of economic globalization and multinational-corporations, as reflected in China’s blocking the IPO of Jack Ma’s Ant Group, the G7’s commitment to a minimum corporate tax rate, and proposed
congressional legislation to break up Amazon and other corporate giants. Under these circumstances, nation-state officials tasked with international relations, first and foremost foreign ministries, assume new importance.
On a regional level, Israel enjoys growing acceptance as reflected in the Hellenic alliance (with Greece and Cyprus) to its West and the Abraham Accords with Arab states, requiring a deeper understanding of regional challenges and emerging opportunities. This will also oblige Israel to deal with neglected regional matters, such as relations with Jordan, and with potentially volatile relationships such as the one with Turkey.
These massive challenges require a strong diplomatic corps to help Israel understand complex realities and maneuver in stormy waters – repelling threats and identifying opportunities. Such a corps has innate advantages: Local ties in host states, professionalism and long-term continuity, which is not always the case with other government agencies, such as the Prime Minister’s Office, competing for influence over core issues.
But despite the distinct strategic need, the Foreign Ministry has been battered in recent decades, with many of its responsibilities parceled out to other ministries and its budget slashed. The government did not even appoint a full-time foreign minister for several years. Foreign Minister Ashkenazi’s appointment signaled a turning point and energized the ministry. Ashkenazi moved quickly to fill dozens of vacant slots in foreign missions (although the previous government delayed their approval for months), and undertook active diplomatic engagement, such as a visit to Egypt, the first by an Israeli foreign minister in over a decade.
The brevity of his term, some of it under a transition government, naturally curtailed its effectiveness. But the installation of the new government and Lapid’s appointment as foreign minister provide renewed promise, first because of his significant political power. His party is the largest in the coalition and he himself is scheduled to become prime minister (in a rotation agreement with the incumbent Naftali Bennett) in two years.
These favorable opening conditions will allow him to undertake significant measures, both on core ministry issues that do not generate political controversy and in regard to re-organizing and strengthening the ministry. His future status as prime minister will command greater attention abroad and provide additional incentives for governmental actors to cooperate with him.
The guidelines of the new government signal a significant change in this regard, with a commitment to bolster the Foreign Ministry’s standing as an integrator of Israeli foreign relations, as does Bennett’s announced closing of the Strategic Affairs Ministry, which had been handed some traditional Foreign Ministry tasks in recent years.
The commitment to charge the Foreign Ministry with overall integration of Israel’s foreign relations must be followed through with specifics. For example, bolstering the ministry’s strategic capabilities by giving its policy planning department a more dominant role in guiding Israeli foreign policy vis-à-vis the defense agencies, especially the IDF, which generally assume the lead on issues such as relations with the Palestinians or the campaign against Iran.
By the same token, building up the ministry’s strategic capabilities could include strengthening its Center for Political Research within the intelligence community. Finally, stronger strategic capabilities must be underpinned by appropriate budgets and staffing.
In a cautionary aside – the prime minister and foreign minister are partners but also potential political rivals. They must ensure that the Foreign Ministry does not suffer collateral damage as a result.
The second factor that augurs well for Lapid’s term is the importance he attributes to the international arena. As opposition leader he undertook public diplomacy campaigns abroad to underscore his domestic political legitimacy. His maiden speech upon taking office reflected his true interest in this field and determination to position the ministry as a leader in formulating Israeli foreign policy.
Like other foreign ministries, ours is also dealing with the challenge of reshaping the diplomatic profession in light of the technological revolution that has shaken its fundamental principles. Lapid appears well equipped for this debate: A former media professional and a politician with an effective digital media presence.
Finally, some of the goals to which the new government has committed open the door to strengthening the ministry and taking advantage of its power. The stability to which the government committed has already paved the way for the June 20 approval of dozens of diplomatic appointments approved by the ministry last fall but delayed by political considerations.
Broadly speaking, the desire to restore dignity to the state and the political process, which appears to unite the partners in this diverse coalition as expressed in the first article of their coalition agreement, de facto means strengthening the institutions of the state, including the Foreign Ministry.
The third item of the government’s basic guidelines, buttressing the hi-tech industry, also relates to Israel’s standing in the international system, being completely export-oriented and based on cross-border cooperation. So are goals such as advancing tourism and higher education, both obviously domestic targets but dependent to a large degree on Israel’s standing in the world.
The writer is a senior lecturer on international affairs at the University of Haifa, a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Political Science Department, and a Mitvim Institute board member.