7. America in the 1990s: searching for purpose

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dumbrell
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
External Environment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bill Clinton ◽  
First Year ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
International Environment ◽  
The Us ◽  
Internal Pressures

This chapter examines how the external environment of US foreign policy and internal pressures on policy makers both shifted radically in the 1990s. Internationally, the ‘long 1990s’ were characterized by intense democratic possibility. Yet they were also years of atavistic negativity and irrationality, as seen in Rwanda and Bosnia. Two questions arise: First, how should the United States respond to a world which was apparently both rapidly integrating and rapidly disintegrating? Second, was it inevitable, desirable, or even possible that the US should provide global leadership? Before discussing various approaches to these questions, the chapter considers the wider international environment of apparent unipolarity and globalization. It also analyzes the development of American foreign policy under presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, focusing in particular on the so-called ‘Kennan sweepstakes’ during the first year of Clinton’s presidency as well as Clinton’s turn towards unilateralism and remilitarization.

Catalysing Events, Think Tanks and American Foreign Policy Shifts: A Comparative Analysis of the Impacts of Pearl Harbor 1941 and 11 September 2001

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inderjeet Parmar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Pearl Harbor ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Policy Shifts

AbstractThe American aggression in Iraq and the campaign in Afghanistan resulted from the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US. 9/11 has had a massive, catalysing effect on the American public, press, main political parties and official foreign policy makers. This article assesses the impact of 9/11 in changing US foreign policy and especially in creating a new foreign policy establishment by comparing it to the consequences of an historical military attack on the United States – Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. It concludes that there is adequate evidence to suggest that a new bipartisan foreign policy consensus/establishment has emerged.

scholarly journals Features of the US Foreign Policy Towards the Central Asian States

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-81
Author(s):  
E. V. Kryzhko ◽  
P. I. Pashkovsky
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
The Us

The article examines the features of the US foreign policy towards the Central Asian states in the post-bipolar period. The imperatives and constants, as well as the transformation of Washington’s Central Asian policy, have been characterized. It is shown that five Central Asian states have been in the focus of American foreign policy over the past thirty years. In the process of shaping the US foreign policy in Central Asia, the presence of significant reserves of energy and mineral resources in the region was of great importance. Therefore, rivalry for Caspian energy resources and their transportation routes came to the fore. In addition to diversifying transport and logistics flows and supporting American companies, the US energy policy in Central Asia was aimed at preventing the restoration of Russia’s economic and political influence, as well as countering the penetration of China, which is interested in economic cooperation with the countries of the region. During the period under review, the following transformation of mechanisms and means of Washington’s policy in the Central Asian direction was observed: the policy of “exporting democracy”; attempts to “nurture” the pro-American elite; striving to divide states into separate groups with permanent “appointment” of leaders; involvement in a unified military system to combat terrorism; impact on the consciousness of the population in order to destabilize geopolitical rivals; building cooperation on a pragmatic basis due to internal difficulties and external constraints. Central Asian states sympathized with the American course because of their interest in technology and investment. At the same time, these states in every possible way distanced themselves from the impulses of “democratization” from Washington. Kazakhstan was a permanent regional ally of the United States, to which Uzbekistan was striving to join. The second echelon in relations with the American side was occupied by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. A feature of the positions of the Central Asian countries is the maximum benefit from cooperation with Washington while building good-neighborly relations with Russia and China, which is in dissonance with the regional imperatives of the United States. In the future, the American strategy in Central Asia will presumably proceed from the expediency of attracting regional allies and stimulating contradictions in order to contain geopolitical rivals in the region.

14. US foreign policy in Russia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Rutland
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bill Clinton ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
The North ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Vladimir Putin

This chapter examines US foreign policy in Russia. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 raised a number of questions that have profound implications for American foreign policy; for example, whether the Russian Federation, which inherited half the population and 70 per cent of the territory of the former Soviet Union, would become a friend and partner of the United States, a full and equal member of the community of democratic nations, or whether it would return to a hostile, expansionary communist or nationalist power. The chapter considers US–Russia relations at various times under Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, and Donald Trump. It also discusses a host of issues affecting the US–Russia relations, including the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the crisis in Kosovo and Ukraine, and the civil war in Syria.

Peacemakers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Pardew
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
National Security ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Military Force ◽  
International Crisis ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Multilateral Cooperation ◽  
The Us

Peacemakers is a candid, inside account of the US response to the disintegration of Yugoslavia by James Pardew, an official at the heart of American policy-making, diplomacy, and military operations, from the US-led negotiations on Bosnia in 1995 until Kosovo declared independence in 2008. The book describes in colorful detail the drama of war and diplomacy in the Balkans and the motives, character, talents, and weaknesses of the heroes and villains involved. The US engagement in the former Yugoslavia is a major American foreign policy and national security success with lasting implications for the United States, Europe, and the Balkan region. It involves aggressive diplomacy, the selective use of military force and extensive multilateral cooperation. The experience demonstrates the value of American leadership in an international crisis and the critical importance of America’s relationship with European democracies. US engagement in the former Yugoslavia shows the overwhelming benefits of the shared costs and the international legitimacy of multilateral cooperation when responding to a crisis. A capable and determined US-led coalition restores stability and gives the new nations of Southeastern Europe the chance to become successful democracies in the European mainstream. Peacemakers concludes with lessons learned from the Balkan experience and insights on international crisis management of potential value to envoys and foreign policy and national security decision-makers in the future.

scholarly journals Direitos humanos e política externa norte-americana: a participação dos EUA na Conferência de Viena (1993) / Human rights and American foreign policy: the US participation in the Vienna Conference (1993)

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-351
Author(s):  
Matheus de Carvalho Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Bill Clinton ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Second World ◽  
Rights Issues ◽  
The U.S

A II Conferência Mundial para os Direitos Humanos da ONU, conhecida como Conferência de Viena, realizada em 1993, foi objeto de estudo da literatura de Relações Internacionais durante os anos noventa principalmente, inclusive no Brasil, devido à destacada participação da delegação brasileira. Entretanto, há ainda uma carência na área em relação à análise da importante participação dos Estados Unidos nesse evento da ONU. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste artigo é tentar contribuir no sentido de suprir essa lacuna, isto é, tentar compreender melhor a participação dos EUA – assim como suas motivações e contradições no que tange à política externa – nesse que foi o mais importante evento internacional em matéria de direitos humanos no pós-Guerra Fria. A hipótese aqui discutida é que a participação destacada dos EUA na referida Conferência seria resultado de dois fatores associados: um impulso inicial favorável aos direitos humanos, incitado pela necessidade do recém eleito Bill Clinton demonstrar relativa coerência com suas críticas às posturas de seu antecessor em matéria de direitos humanos; e a formação inicial de uma equipe de governo ligada à temática dos direitos humanos. Por outro lado, a análise da participação dos EUA em Viena diante do foco de Clinton nas questões econômicas domésticas e em comparação com outras ações de política externa parece demonstrar a permanência da ambivalência da política externa de direitos humanos dos EUA, resultando no que se designa como dupla padronização. The Second World Conference on Human Rights, known as the Vienna Conference, held in 1993, was studied by the literature of International Relations especially during the 1990s, including in Brazil, due to the outstanding participation of the Brazilian delegation. However, there is a lack of studies about the significant participation of the U.S. in the meeting. Thus, the aim of this article is to contribute towards filling this gap, in other words, to better understand the American involvement – as well as their motivations and contradictions regarding foreign policy – in this event, considered the most important international human rights event in the post-Cold War era. The hypothesis here is that the U.S. outstanding participation in the Conference would be the outcome of two linked factors: an initial push to favor human rights incited by the need of the newly elected Bill Clinton to demonstrate coherence with his criticism on the former administration's acts in the human rights field; and the initial composition of a government staff closer to human rights issues. On the other hand, the analysis of U.S. active involvement in Vienna - in contrast to the focus of Clinton on domestic and economic issues and compared to other foreign policy actions - seems to point to the continuing ambivalence of human rights foreign policy of the U.S., thus resulting in what is designated as double-standard.

scholarly journals Contemporary Problems of a “Grand Strategy” in the US Foreign Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-39
Author(s):  
S. Kislitsyn
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Leadership ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Grand Strategy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Expert Community ◽  
Policy Elites

The research examines the main problems of a grand strategy in the US foreign policy. Attention is paid to the conceptual understanding of this term, its historical development, and the current state. The article analyzes the positions of American foreign policy elites and the expert community regarding the problem of the US self-positioning in the outside world. The article consists of three parts. The first analyses the main conceptual provisions of the “grand strategy” as a term. It describes its development from a military term, reflecting the general tactics in interstate confrontation to its comprehensive understanding as a coordination principle of long-term and medium-term goals with short term actions. The second part of the article focuses on the American foreign policy elites, their approaches, as well as public opinion on this issue. It is noted that the ideology of global leadership has become an important component of the establishment's thinking. It largely impedes the development of new foreign policy concepts and, as a result, reformatting the grand strategy. The third part is devoted to the positions of the expert community on the issue of grand strategy. Four main versions are considered: "Offensive", "Selective engagement", "Offshore Balancing", "Zero-sum". The author comes to a conclusion that the US foreign policy mixes several types of strategies at the moment. It is noted that as China strengthens, the United States faces a new competition, which, unlike the Soviet threat, implies not military-political, but economic confrontation. The implementation of the scenario of a "new Cold War" between Washington and Beijing can define the new goals of the grand strategy. At the same time, this also creates an ideological dilemma of recognizing a new challenge, an increasing alternative for American global leadership - the idea of which is still popular among representatives of American foreign policy elites.

Conclusion

After Victory ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 257-274
Author(s):  
G. John Ikenberry
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Power ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Global Power ◽  
The Cold War

This concluding chapter evaluates the implications that emerge from this book's theoretical and historical analysis for American foreign policy. The United States begins a new century as an unrivaled global power. American foreign policy makers need to be reminded what characteristics of the postwar order have made American power reasonably acceptable to other states and peoples during and after the Cold War. American power is not only unprecedented in its preponderance, but it is also unprecedented in the way it is manifest within and through institutions. This helps explain why it has been so durable. If American policy makers want to perpetuate America's preeminent position, they will need to continue to find ways to operate within international institutions, and by so doing restrain that power and make it acceptable to other states.

9. Domestic influences on foreign policy making

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Aronica ◽  
Inderjeet Parmar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
Institutional Influences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Constitution

This chapter examines domestic factors that influence American foreign policy, focusing on the variety of ways in which pressure groups and elites determine and shape what the United States does in the international arena. It first considers how US foreign policy has evolved over time before discussing the US Constitution in terms of foreign policy making and implementation. It then explores institutional influences on foreign policy making, including Congress and the executive branch, as well as the role of ‘orthodox’ and ‘unorthodox’ actors involved in the making of foreign policy and how power is distributed among them. It also analyzes the Trump administration’s foreign policy, taking into account the ‘Trump Doctrine’ and the US strikes on Syria.

scholarly journals Factors to influence the formation of the US foreign policy during the presidency of Bill Clinton

2017 ◽  
pp. 6-15
Author(s):  
Viktoriia Bondaruk
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bill Clinton ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
The Us ◽  
Definition Of

The US foreign policy serves as an example for other countries, as it is one of the most developed countries in the world. For a better understanding of the features of contemporary foreign policy, the preconditions for its formation are determined. The history of the United States of America has been analyzed, which has inevitably influenced the formation of its current foreign policy and geostrategy. The political system of the country is defined as one of the direct factors influencing the formation of foreign policy. It is revealed that the very political preconditions create the legal basis for the existence and development of foreign policy, and therefore their study is very important for a deeper understanding of the vectors, principles and means of implementing the modern foreign policy of any state, namely, the United States. The internal economic situation, structure and development of the country’s economy, as well as problems and challenges on the way to the development of the national economy that are directly relevant for defining the functions, priorities and directions of foreign policy are considered. After all, it is the economy that is one of the most important factors shaping the foreign economic strategy of the state, which is an important factor in the formation of foreign economic relations and politics in general. It is proved that the geopolitical situation is the main factor for the definition of foreign policy vectors of the state. The geographic and geopolitical location of the state, in this case, the United States, defines the directions and vectors of the foreign policy of the state. The article explores all the factors and preconditions for the formation of US foreign policy during the presidency of Bill Clinton and his predecessors.

scholarly journals Colonial empires and USA policy in the South-East Asia after the 1945

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 252-255
Author(s):  
Stanislav Gennadyevich Malkin ◽  
Sergey Olegovich Buranok ◽  
Dmitriy Aleksandrovich Nesterov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Third World ◽  
The Military

The following paper analyzes the characteristics of the US foreign policy decision-making process at the beginning of the Cold War, due to the active appeal of representatives of the political establishment, the military and the countrys expert community to the colonial experience of the European powers in terms of the prospects of applying their experience in ensuring colonial control in Southeast Asia before and after the end of the World War II as part of the US political course in this region. In addition, it is concluded that more attention should be paid to the role and, therefore, to the prosopographic profile of the experts (in the broad sense of the word), who collaborated with the departments responsible for the development of American foreign policy, such as the Department of State and the Pentagon, and formulated many of the conclusions, which, at least rhetorically, formed the basis of Washingtons course in Southeast Asia after 1945. Special attention is paid to interpretations of the role of colonial knowledge in the light of the unfolding Cold War in the third world, proposed by British diplomats and the military to their American colleagues in the logic of the special relations between Great Britain and the United States.

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