American Republicans are renowned for their conservative tendencies; it comes with the territory.

So there are no surprises in the draft document on foreign policy and defence which will be put before Republican Party delegates in Tampa tomorrow. Among the headline issues are firmer handling of China and Russia, unequivocal support for Israel, the strengthening of the special relationship with Britain and the need to reach out to allies in central and south America while countering the "malign socialism" of Hugo Chavez's Venezuela.

Over the past few months Mitt Romney has woken up and done his homework on defence and foreign affairs. When he visited Israel last month he placed himself firmly behind prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and promised that the US would not allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons. He also wants a firmer policy to deter Iran. Romney's thinking on the subject is encapsulated in a document called "An American Century", in which he claims: "God did not create this country to be a nation of followers - America must lead the world, or someone else will." Romney has also come to favour a two-state solution in Israel, as does his running mate, Paul Ryan – and so, too, does Netanyahu and other conservative Israelis.

The young senator from Wisconsin arrived with unbeatable Republican credentials on the economy – he wants to cut entitlement expenditure so that savings on social security payments and Medicare can be used for increased defence spending. But doubts have already been expressed about the depth of Ryan's knowledge of world affairs.

Ever since Hillary Clinton raised the issue during her tussle for the Democrat candidacy four years ago, the vice-president's stance on defence has become a talking point in elections. What happens if the president has to replaced? The question has already been asked in Israel, where there was a flurry of anxiety last week about Ryan's Zionist credentials. The conclusion of the powerful National Jewish Democratic Council seemed to be that Ryan is a lightweight who might support Israel in theory but that his appointment was the "clearest indication yet that Romney does not reflect the values of most American Jews".

This matters. The Zionist vote is a powerful factor in US politics and the current political situation in the Middle East is fraught with hidden dangers. Fortunately for the Republicans, though, the influential think tank Council on Foreign Relations says that when it comes to party conventions, defence and foreign relations always play second fiddle to the economy and other domestic issues. That's what voters want, and generally speaking that's what they get.