The Armenian-American lobby and its impact on U.S. foreign policy

Most of the few studies and press articles dealing with the U.S. Armenian lobby have tended to insist on this lobby's successes, regarded as impressive and disproportionate. This has generated a few problems in its global understanding, especially with regards to its impact on U.S. foreign policy, and has contributed to shape a generalized perception of a 'small' lobby, capable of considerable influence on U.S. foreign policy. The main goal of this article is to question this common perception in order to propose a more accurate evaluation of this lobby. Mostly thanks to its influence in Congress, it has succeeded in getting positive results, particularly concerning U.S. financial assistance to Armenia. However, it has also experienced some failures, particularly on issues related to Turkey or American energy policy. Keywords Armenian lobby * Ethnic lobbying * American foreign policy * Armenia * Turkey * Armenian National Committee of America * Armenian Assembly of America
Lobbying is an important and historical component of American political life. It finds its origin in the idea that individuals or groups must be able to play a direct role [...]