“Bipartisan capture” refers to the phenomenon where American foreign policy has been substantially influenced by a network of beneficiaries whose interests have shaped the operations, regardless of which political party holds power. This capture has been characterized by continuity in personnel, analytical frameworks, and operational outcomes across both Democratic and Republican administrations.
The operations have continued across Democratic and Republican administrations with substantial continuity of personnel, of analytical framework, and of operational outcomes. The named beneficiaries have profited regardless of which party has held the presidency. The donor networks have funded both parties’ candidates. The think tank ecosystem has produced analytical product that has shaped both parties’ policy frameworks. The bipartisan character of the capture is one of its principal defining features and is the principal reason that electoral changes have not produced substantial changes in the operations.
The Obama administration continued and expanded operations the Bush administration had initiated, including the Yemen war, the Libya operation, the Syrian proxy war, the broader drone warfare program, and the substantial expansion of American military presence across the broader region. The Trump first administration continued and expanded operations the Obama administration had conducted, with additional operations including the Soleimani assassination, the JCPOA withdrawal, and the substantial pro-Israeli policy shifts that have been discussed earlier. The Biden administration continued and expanded operations the Trump administration had initiated, including the continued Yemen war, the substantial expansion of American support to Israeli operations after October 7, and the continuation of the Ukraine policy. The Trump second administration is continuing and expanding operations the Biden administration had conducted, with additional operations including the threatened larger-scale operations against Iran, the continued support for Israeli operations across the broader region, and the broader military expansion that the 1.5 trillion dollar defense budget represents.
The bipartisan continuity demonstrates that the architecture’s operations are substantially independent of the electoral preferences of the American population. The American population has voted across multiple election cycles in patterns that should have produced changes in the operations if the operations were responsive to electoral preferences. The operations have not changed because the operations are not responsive to electoral preferences. The operations are responsive to the architecture’s institutional structure and to the network of beneficiaries that the structure serves. The electoral process has not been the mechanism through which the operations could be changed because the electoral process has been substantially captured by the same network whose interests the operations serve.
Related: capture.md, foreign-policy.md, aipac.md, boeing.md, lockheed-martin.md, northrop-grumman.md, palantir-technologies.md, spacex.md, usa.md
See Also
capture.md foreign-policy.md aipac.md boeing.md lockheed-martin.md northrop-grumman.md palantir-technologies.md spacex.md usa.md