2003/12/22 by David F. Schmitz, Vanessa Walker · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics #International Law and Human Rights #Global Peace and Security Dynamics #Foreign policy #Political science #Human rights #Opposition (politics) #Law #Cold war #Presidency #Foreign relations #Covert #Political economy #Public administration #Sociology #Politics
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.2004.00400.x
openalex publication_date 2003/12/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
I would hope that the nations of the world might say that we had built a lasting peace, based not on weapons of war but on international policies which reflect our own most precious values. These are not just my goals, and they will not be my accomplishments, but the affirmation of our nation’s continuing moral strength and our belief in an undiminished, ever-expanding American dream.1 From the first day of his presidency, Jimmy Carter set out to fundamentally alter the direction of American foreign policy. Coming to office in the wake of the disillusionment brought about by the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Church Committee) revelations on Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert activities abroad, Carter promised a new direction to American foreign policy by shaping it around the principles of human rights and nonintervention. Carter faced the challenge of developing and implementing his new policy in opposition to the continuing Cold War axiom of containment of the Soviet Union. His policy of human rights sought to create a post-Cold War foreign policy that changed the fundamental nature of American relations with the Third World while still protecting essential American interests. The tension between the quest for a more humane foreign policy and the old imperatives of security and stability has led most commentators to criticize Carter’s foreign policy as simplistic and naive.