Cultural shift and foreign policy change - Israel and the making of the Oslo Accords

This article analyses the role of cultural shift, as defined by Inglehart, in the major change in Israeli foreign policy embodied in the Oslo Accords. Aside from providing an empirical explanation, it also analyses the Oslo case from a general theoretical perspective concerning the relationship between cultural change and foreign policy change. It argues that a cultural shift towards Postmaterialism led to the rise of a new generation on the Israeli Left with a more Liberal outlook. It was this 'Liberal Left' that was primarily responsible for conceiving, initiating and enacting the Oslo Accords. In broader terms, this study provides a new way of examining the relationship between cultural change and foreign policy change. As such, it provides a solid basis for the comparative analysis of the role of a substantive, worldwide cultural trend on foreign policy.