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Ethnic interest groups in the United States are ethnic interest groups within the United States which seek to influence the foreign policy and, to a lesser extent, the domestic policy of the United States for the benefit of the foreign "ethnic kin" or homeland with whom the respective ethnic groups identify. [1]
[The] ethnic composition [of the United States is] the single most important determinant of American foreign policy. — Nathan Glazer [2]
"Being a country founded and populated by immigrants, the United States has always contained groups with significant affective and political ties to their national homeland and their ethnic kin throughout the world." [1]
Many commentators when discussing the influence of ethnic interest groups tend to focus on new entrants to the competition for influence while accepting that the historic role that the Anglo-Saxon ethnic group had is no longer influencing, the foreign policy of the United States. [1] According to the Anglo authors as it usually is it was the United States' Anglo-Saxon's ethnic-ideological identity that, according to Paul McCartney, [3] drove it to enter into the Spanish–American War. Similarly, United States foreign policy in the mid-20th century was shaped in favor of South African apartheid, according to Catherine Scott, [4] as a result of the influence of people who identified with the Afrikaners based on a feeling of shared "whiteness."
In the United States, according to Alexander DeConde, [5] the "World War quickened the ethnic consciousness of minority groups. They promptly created organizations to help the causes of their old European homelands that had become belligerents. Through whatever means possible, the ethnic activists among them sought to give direction to Washington on matters of policy that affected their overseas kin, making the United States a lobbying battleground between rival interest groups emotionally entangled in the war."
Ambrosio writes that "during the Cold War, the influence of ethnic identity groups was limited by the nature of both the international system and the U.S. foreign policy process." [1] The ethnic identity groups had limited influence during this period because:
Historian Samuel P. Huntington [6] writes that in the post–Cold War international system, there is uncertainty and confusion in the United States as to what are its national interests. Contributing to this confusing is the rise of multiculturalism and its eroding of a singular "American identity." The lack of a coherent national identity makes its challenging for the state to articulate its true interests, thus it becomes less resistant to the influence exerted by ethnic interest groups whose ethnocentric goals, at best, may only align with broad "American interests" by chance.
Political scientist Thomas Ambrosio writes in 2002 that there "has been a growing acceptance that ethnic identity groups have the right to mobilize politically for the purpose of influencing U.S. policies at home and abroad. This has resulted in a rise in the number and ethnic lobbies as well as their influence." [1] Additional trends include an "increasing rejection of cultural assimilation and, in its place, growing support for expressions of ethnic diversity" as well as a decreasing tendency for Americans "to make charges of disloyalty against those who retain ties to their ethnic kin abroad and who advocate positions in line with the interests of their homeland." The proliferation of ethnic conflicts has also heightened the stakes for many ethnic groups causing concerted efforts to expand their influence on U.S. foreign policy as the "independence, survival, or general welfare of a group's ethnic kin or homeland is threatened."
There are multiple perspectives as to the value of the influence of ethnic interest groups on the foreign policy of the United States, much like there are conflicting interpretations of the influence of ethnic interest groups in general, see Ethnic interest groups – conflicting interpretations. Yossi Shain writes that in "many ways […] the participation of ethnic diasporas in shaping U.S. foreign policy is a truly positive phenomena." [1] A less positive assessment comes from Tony Smith, who writes that at "present, the negative consequences of ethnic involvement may way outweigh the undoubted benefits this activism at times confers on America in world affairs." [7]
Irredentism is a desire by one state to annex a territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent state. Historical reasons may also be responsible, i.e., that the territory previously formed part of the parent state. However, difficulties in applying the concept to concrete cases have given rise to academic debates about its precise definition. Disagreements concern whether either or both ethnic and historical reasons have to be present and whether non-state actors can also engage in irredentism. A further dispute is whether attempts to absorb a full neighboring state are also included. There are various types of irredentism. For typical forms of irredentism, the parent state already exists before the territorial conflict with a neighboring state arises. However, there are also forms of irredentism in which the parent state is newly created by uniting an ethnic group spread across several countries. Another distinction concerns whether the country to which the disputed territory currently belongs is a regular state, a former colony, or a collapsed state.
The Cuban–American lobby are various groups of Cuban exiles in the United States and their descendants who have historically influenced the United States' policy toward Cuba. In general usage, this refers to anti-Castro groups.
Paul Augustus Findley was an American writer and politician. He served as United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1960. A moderate Republican for most of his long political career, Findley was a supporter of civil rights and an early opponent of the U.S. war in Vietnam. He co-authored the War Powers Act in 1973, which is supposed to limit the ability of the president to go to war without Congressional authorization. Findley lost his seat in 1982 to current United States Senator Dick Durbin. He was a cofounder of the Council for the National Interest, a Washington, D.C. advocacy group, and was a vocal critic of American policy towards Israel.
The Arab American Institute (AAI) is a non-profit membership organization that advocates for the interests of Arab-Americans. Founded in 1985 by James Zogby, the brother of pollster John Zogby, the organization is based in Washington, D.C.
The Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) was the official representative of the organized Canadian Jewish community on matters pertaining to Canada–Israel relations.
The Arab lobby in the United States is a collection of formal and informal groups and professional lobbyists in the United States paid directly by Gulf Arab states and private donors on behalf of the Arab states.
The Israel lobby are individuals and groups seeking to influence the United States government to better serve Israel's interests. The largest pro-Israel lobbying group is Christians United for Israel with over seven million members. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a leading organization within the lobby, speaking on behalf of a coalition of pro-Israel American Jewish groups.
The Jewish lobby are individuals and groups predominantly in the Jewish diaspora that advocate for the interests of Jews and Jewish values. The lobby references the involvement and influence of Jews in politics and the political process, and includes organized groups such as the American Jewish Committee, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, B'nai B'rith, and the Anti-Defamation League. While there is overlap in membership between the Jewish lobby and the Israel lobby, the two terms are not interchangeable, as the Jewish lobby is defined by its ethnic makeup, while the Israel lobby is defined by its political agenda.
An ethnic interest group or ethnic lobby, according to Thomas Ambrosio, is an advocacy group established along cultural, ethnic, religious or racial lines by an ethnic group for the purposes of directly or indirectly influencing the foreign policy of their resident country in support of the homeland and/or ethnic kin abroad with which they identify.
A foreign policy interest group, according to Thomas Ambrosio, is a domestic advocacy group which seeks to directly or indirectly influence their government's foreign policy.
Thomas Ambrosio is a professor of political science in the Criminal Justice and Political Science Department at North Dakota State University. He teaches courses in international relations and international law.
Diaspora politics in the United States is the political behavior of transnational diasporas of ethnic groups, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, as well as their role in inter-ethnic relations. This article describes case studies and theories of political scientists studying diaspora politics within the specific context of the United States. The general study of diaspora politics is part of the broader field of diaspora studies.
Diaspora politics is the political behavior of transnational ethnic diasporas, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, and their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. The study of diaspora politics is part of the broader field of diaspora studies.
United States foreign policy in the Middle East has its roots in the early 19th-century Tripolitan War that occurred shortly after the 1776 establishment of the United States as an independent sovereign state, but became much more expansive in the aftermath of World War II. With the goal of preventing the Soviet Union from gaining influence in the region during the Cold War, American foreign policy saw the deliverance of extensive support in various forms to anti-communist and anti-Soviet regimes; among the top priorities for the U.S. with regards to this goal was its support for the State of Israel against its Soviet-backed neighbouring Arab countries during the peak of the Arab–Israeli conflict. The U.S. also came to replace the United Kingdom as the main security patron for Saudi Arabia as well as the other Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the 1960s and 1970s in order to ensure, among other goals, a stable flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. As of 2023, the U.S. has diplomatic relations with every country in the Middle East except for Iran, with whom relations were severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Syria, with whom relations were suspended in 2012 following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War.
The Irish National Caucus (INC) is an Irish-American lobby group. It was founded by Father Sean Gabriel McManus on February 6, 1974, at a meeting of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The lobby group was formed to counterbalance British influences in the United States Congress and government, at a time when Northern Ireland was engulfed in violence. The situation was complicated, as Britain and the USA were allied in NATO during the Cold War against the Soviet Union, which collaborated with some Irish republican elements.
The anti-Israel lobby is a term used by some to refer to organizations with the purpose of opposing relations between the United States and Israel.
The Armenian American lobby is the diverse coalition of those who, as individuals and as groups, seek to influence the United States foreign policy in support of Armenia, Armenians or Armenian policies. One of its primary goals is for the United States to recognize the Armenian genocide, but the Turkish lobby have, until recently, successfully lobbied against this.
The Irish American lobby are groups and individuals who influence United States policy in both foreign and domestic affairs in support of causes related to Ireland and Irish American interests.
In United States politics, Jews have changed political positions multiple times. Many early American German-Jewish immigrants to the United States tended to be politically conservative, but the wave of Eastern European Jews, starting in the early 1880s, were generally more liberal or left-wing, and eventually became the political majority. Many of the latter moved to America having had experience in the socialist, anarchist, and communist movements as well as the Labor Bund emanating from Eastern Europe. Many Jews rose to leadership positions in the early 20th century American labor movement, and founded unions that played a major role in left-wing politics and, after 1936, inside the Democratic Party politics. For most of the 20th century since 1936, the vast majority of Jews in the United States have been aligned with the Democratic Party. During the 20th and 21st centuries, the Republican Party has launched initiatives to persuade American Jews to support their political policies, with relatively little success.