The client’s principles: explaining Israel and Taiwan’s defense ties with Central America

Abstract

Although foreign policy between great power patrons and their client states is often studied, those of client states and third states within the context of patron-client relations receive little attention. We address this gap through a comparative historical analysis of Israel and Taiwan’s defense ties with Central American states from the 1970s until 2019. We argue that clients’ initially make decisions based on the preferences of their patrons, but subsequent defense relations with third states depend on how they benefit clients, which may not align with the patron’s preferences. Our study, besides adding further theoretical and empirical context to the existing scholarship, compares Israel and Taiwan’s long running defense ties with Central American countries, to reveal that both client states began supplying arms and training as surrogates of their patron U.S., but the type of defense goods they subsequently supplied and whether they institutionalised ties were contingent on their expected gains, be it economic, diplomatic, or security.