ВПЛИВ ОСОБИСТІСНОГО ЧИННИКА НА УХВАЛЕННЯ ЗОВНІШНЬОПОЛІТИЧНИХ РІШЕНЬ В АДМІНІСТРАЦІЇ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА США В. КЛІНТОНА

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the research of "personal factor" influence on the foreign policy decision-making during the President W. Clinton two administrations. The essence of "personal factor" is synthesized within the Five Factor Model of personality designated by American psychologists R. McCrae and P. Costa-jr. with additional help of psychobiographical investigations on the President W. Clinton, his leadership style, management capacities and personal skills, produced by American political psychologists and psychoanalysis experts such as J. Gartner, J. Post, S. Renshon, M. Hermann, W. Weintraub, D. Winter and others. The main dimension of W. Clinton personality – "openness to experience" strengthened by high scores in "extraversion" directly reflected in the kind of foreign policy decisions his presidential administrations made. It was quite evident during the Northern Ireland problem negotiations, the appeasement of Balkan states with diplomacy backed by force, and promoting efforts for the Israeli – Palestinian dialog. Those international issues were too complicated to deal with and President W. Clinton was trying hard to find specific approach for breakthrough. He was eager to study all the available information, go detail after detail to understand the case better, take into account his staff ideas and proposals calculating eventual risks and analyzing perspectives of possible moves, so that the U.S. foreign course was optimal and effective. The President was flexible in his point of view and could change it according to the new developments or under the influence of his closest advisors, and he also could take risks in order to get things done his way. As an achievement-motivated person, in relations with foreign leaders W. Clinton used his diplomatic talents, almost unique intellectual capacity and absolute awareness of the matters he dealt with, self-confidence and ability to convince. With such personal traits he managed to become the first foreign leader who had won a compromise among British and Irish authorities and Northern Ireland representatives (Good Friday Agreement of 1998). He made the USA an arbiter of international conflicts having stopped bloodshed and restoring peace in Balkans as well as persistently promoting peace process in the Middle East (Wye River Memorandum of 1998).