American Foreign Policy Research Articles

The Limits of Covert Action in an Election Year: The CIA, Angola, and the 1976 US Presidential Election

ABSTRACT This article focuses upon the decision by President Ford in 1975 to begin a covert operation inside Angola so as to prevent a communist-backed government coming to power. By drawing on recently declassified documents from the United States, this article enhances our understanding of how domestic political factors had such a strong influence over the course of US foreign policy. As such, this article contributes to the wider literature on US foreign policy during the Cold War, which continues to debate how much credence should be placed upon the domestic variable in understanding US foreign policy. Moreover, this article focuses on how the failure of US covert action inside Angola contributed to US policymakers deciding to jettison their policy of superpower détente and return to a more confrontational and militaristic form of Cold War policy.

The Cognitive Trap of Rousseau's "Organic Metaphor" and the Construction of U.S. Policy in Europe and Eurasia

The ideological dimension of international relations and foreign policy represents a distinct area of interaction, often situated at the intersection of political theory and philosophy. This study explores how metaphors, particularly Rousseau’s Organic Metaphor and its adaptation by Woodrow Wilson in his conceptualization of nationalism, function as powerful cognitive tools within the political sphere. These metaphors can act as "cognitive keys" that shape the perception of socio-political realities, influencing both the understanding and actions of political actors. However, while they provide a framework for understanding the internal logic of events, they also limit cognitive freedom by acting as implicit filters. This article traces the instrumental use of these metaphors in U.S. foreign policy, particularly how Wilson’s conceptualization of nationalism, derived from Rousseau’s metaphor, was utilized to reshape the ideational landscape of European politics in the 20th century and is now being applied in Eurasia. The concept of nationalism allowed for the fragmentation of competing political entities, aligning with the U.S. strategy of divide et impera to oppose integration movements. The article further examines how these strategies, which once targeted European empires, are now being employed against emerging integration unions in Eurasia, thereby highlighting the continuity of ideological tools in American foreign policy across different historical contexts.

HIV Social-network intervention more effective in older populations in Kenya

US President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS has been credited with saving 25 million lives in sub-Sahara Africa and, as such, constitutes a preeminent US foreign policy achievement of the twenty-first century. However, the implementation of effective HIV/AIDS pharmacological interventions remains a challenge in rural Kenyan communities. Of particular importance are patient retention and care engagement and their interaction with age disparities that are sensitive to different socioeconomic contexts, as well as time-in-treatment. For the first time, we perform an intermediation and triple interaction intent-to-treat secondary analysis on a social network-based randomized controlled trial. We hypothesize that the temporal interactions of critical demographic features with a treatment/control indicator variable may significantly explain patient retention and that these results are intermediated by social network phenomena. We find that not only does extended time-in-treatment significantly improve primary outcomes, but the threefold interaction along with age and treatment itself is sufficiently flexible to fit the data remarkably well without unnecessary elaboration, an effect that is mediated via internalized stigma. This strongly suggests that patient retention varies by age group. Rather than deploying one-size-fits-all solutions, foreign and public policymakers should invest in research that considers how interventions might be optimized for different ages.Trial registration Clinical Trial Number. NCT02474992 (note: the main trial report was published here https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255945.) Date of submission: June 6, 2015.

A world safe for commerce: American foreign policy from the revolution to the rise of China

A world safe for commerce: American foreign policy from the revolution to the rise of China

A Critique of Deep Engagement, the Social Narrative of US Foreign Policy

Abstract This article offers a critical perspective of the discourse of deep engagement that portrays the United States as the world’s necessary or indispensable power. It describes deep engagement as a social narrative that, like literary narratives, has a story, a plot and an argument. This narrative has persisted in a time of waning hegemony because it makes an apparently appealing moral case for American global leadership. Yet deep engagement remains flawed from a strategic perspective and disregards the history of great-power rise and decline. From a strategic perspective, while hegemons describe their leadership in moral terms, their rhetoric is often betrayed by their actions. From a historical perspective, while hegemons regard their own efforts and values as instrumental to their status, their rise can be credited to a wave of economic and political forces the state cannot control.

International Variables Affecting US Foreign Policy Towards North Korea After 2017

International Variables Affecting US Foreign Policy Towards North Korea After 2017

Without Enemy – American Foreign and Security Policy after the Cold War

Without Enemy – American Foreign and Security Policy after the Cold War

The Shift Toward Imperialist Mentality and America’s China Policy:A Study Centered on The Open Door Policy

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American foreign policy underwent a major shift toward expansionism and imperialism. This transformation was not only a natural result of the increase in American power, but also largely influenced by the mentality of national identity, American exceptionalism, cultural superiority, etc. The American images of China, influenced by this shift, had also undergone significant changes. China in the 19th century was seen as a byword for barbarism, but in the early 20th century, Americans began to talk about China’s awakening. A variety of changes in mentality and expansionist policies had turned the national imagination of Americans to imperialism, which was the driving force behind the change in China’s image. The change in China’s image had in turn affected U.S. policy toward China. However, on the other hand, the tradition of Orientalism had led American to regard China as a passive and static entity. China as a nation and Chinese laborers led the United States to view China as a “double other” rather than a free subject of thought or action. This ideology promoted the formation of the consensus of Open Door Policy and Chinese Exclusion.

The Communist International in the perception of American diplomats, 1919–1944

Based on the documents of the US State Department, the position of its leaders and diplomats in relation to the Communist International for the entire period of time from its foundation to its dissolution is reconstructed. A special place is given to the Communist Party of the USA as a section of the Comintern. The activities of the Comintern affected US foreign policy and left an imprint on the views of diplomats (F. Coleman, W. Bullitt, E. Page, Jr.) and strategic ideologists (J. Kennan, Zb. Brzezinski). The experience of the participation of the American diplomatic department in the 1920s – the first half of the 1940s. It is still relevant in countering the "world Communist Party". During this period of history, the United States developed methods to neutralize political opponents (the US Communist Party, and after World War II – the Communist parties of Western Europe and pro-Soviet forces around the world), which are still being used in a modified form by Washington. The purpose of the article is to trace the changes in the position of the US diplomatic corps in relation to the Comintern in 1919–1943. The subject of the study is the assessments, plans and actions of American diplomats used during the formation of U.S. policy towards Soviet Russia/USSR before and during World War II. The conclusions are substantiated: 1) in the 1920s, American diplomats realized the inextricability of ties between Soviet Russia/The USSR and the Comintern, between the Comintern and the Communist Party of the USA, which led to the development of specific ways to counter the Communists by the US government, (repressive, legislative, agent, information and protective); 2) the activities of the Comintern and the Communist Party of the USA in the 1920s and early 1930s complicated relations between Moscow and Washington and encouraged US legislators and diplomats to counter foreign subversive activities; 3) during World War II, the State Department was concerned about the very existence of the Comintern and in February 1943 developed a position according to which important agreements The USSR should have included a provision on the termination of the activities of the Comintern. The results of the study can be used for subsequent studies on the history of Soviet-American relations, the history of the international communist movement. На основе документов Государственного департамента США реконструируется позиция его руководителей и дипломатов в отношении Коммунистического Интернационала за весь период времени от его основания до роспуска. Особое место уделяется Компартии США как секции Коминтерна. Деятельность Коминтерна сказалась на внешней политике США и наложила отпечаток на воззрения дипломатов (Ф. Колеман, У. Буллит, Э. Пейдж-мл.) и стратегов-идеологов (Дж. Кеннан, Зб. Бжезинский). Опыт участия американского дипломатического ведомства в 1920-е – первой половине 1940-х гг. в противодействии «мировой компартии» актуален и поныне. В обозначенный период истории в Соединенных Штатах разрабатывались методы нейтрализации политических противников (Компартии США, а после Второй мировой войны – компартий стран Западной Европы и просоветских сил по всему миру), которые и сейчас в модифицированном виде используются Вашингтоном. Цель статьи: проследить изменения позиции дипломатического корпуса США в отношении Коминтерна в 1919–1943 гг. Предметом исследования являются оценки, планы и действия американских дипломатов, использовавшиеся в ходе формирования политики США по отношению к Советской России/СССР до начала и во время Второй мировой войны. Обоснованы выводы: 1) в 1920-е гг. американские дипломаты осознавали неразрывность связей между Советской Россией/СССР и Коминтерном, между Коминтерном и Компартией США, что вело к выработке специфических способов противодействия коммунистам со стороны правительства США, (репрессивных, законодательных, агентурных, информационных и оградительных); 2) деятельность Коминтерна и Компартии США в 1920-е – начале 1930-х гг. осложняла отношения между Москвой и Вашингтоном и побуждала законодателей и дипломатов США противодействовать иностранной подрывной деятельности; 3) во время Второй мировой войны Госдепартамент был обеспокоен самим фактом существования Коминтерна и в феврале 1943 г. выработал позицию, согласно которой важные соглашения с СССР должны были включать положение о прекращении деятельности Коминтерна. Результаты исследования могут быть привлечены для последующих штудий по истории советско-американских отношений, истории международного коммунистического движения.

Jeffrey Friedman. The Commander-in-Chief Test: Public Opinion and the Politics of Image-Making in US Foreign Policy

Jeffrey Friedman. <i>The Commander-in-Chief Test: Public Opinion and the Politics of Image-Making in US Foreign Policy</i>

“Changing values and the writing of history”: A review of United States Foreign Policy History &amp; Resource Guide, a website, at https://peacehistory‐usfp.org/

“Changing values and the writing of history”: A review of <i>United States Foreign Policy History &amp; Resource Guide</i>, a website, at https://peacehistory‐usfp.org/

Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Impact on Pak-US Relations

Conflict in Afghanistan, either Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or war on terror in post 9/11 period, has deep impact on Pak- US relations. In both the cases Pakistan got the status of the most important state strategically. It played important role as a front-line state to fight against the Soviet Union during Soviet attack of Afghanistan. As a result, America extended economic and military support to Pakistan. After the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, American Foreign policy towards Pakistan was changed; it stopped all kind of economic and military support to Pakistan and imposed sanctions on it. Again, in post 9/11 attacks on American soil, America decided to attack Afghanistan and it needed Pakistan’s logistic support. Pakistan extended the required support and again became an important American ally in operation in Afghanistan. Thus, we may say, that conflict in Afghanistan has deep impact on Pak- US relations.

The United States is a messianic state: rhetorical roots in US foreign policy since 1991

ABSTRACT How do we explain the United States’ interventionist mindset in the international system since 1991? Since the end of the Cold War and the subsequent unipolar moment, America has actively promoted democracy and human rights globally. However, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban’s subsequent takeover prompts us to re-think the ideological roots of interventionism between 1991 and 2021. Scholars have taken two broad positions on how they view America: an empire or a hegemon. In this article, I suggest that two conceptions help explain the US actions and behaviour in the international system but do not explicitly outline the rhetorical roots of the US intentions. Drawing on historical instances of messianic tendencies in the global political structure, this paper argues that a messianic state is a nation-state that assumes the global responsibility of saving societies from an impending threat. As a messianic state, the US has used the discursive logic of saving others by drawing on American exceptionalism and the global vision of democratic peace. The messianic content in American foreign policy matured between 1991 and 2010, but it has been in steep decline since 2015 with the rise of China and American inwardness.

The Transformation of International Relations in East Asia at the End of the XX – Early XXI Centuries

The author examines the role of various institutions and countries in the transformation of the world order in East Asia during the period of the late XX – early XXI centuries. The work notes that at the end of the XX century, the American model of the regionalization process, carried out within the framework of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), dominated. However, due to the changes in the US foreign policy doctrine and the Asian economic crisis of 1997–1998, APEC, in the early 2000s, began to give way to ASEAN+, where Japan occupied the leading position. Since the mid-2000s, China has been strengthening due to successfully carried out economic reforms and the use of various integration platforms. As a result, China began to promote its own model of globalization and regionalization in the region, which challenged the American order not only in East Asia, but also in the Asia-Pacific region. In the late 2000s, Washington sought to regain lost positions in the region by promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership integration project, which intensified the struggle between the leading powers for dominance in the region. As a result, in the 2010s. ASEAN+ and Japan are developing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) project, China is beginning to promote the Belt and Road international cooperation organization. As a result of the transformation of international relations caused by the movement of the world from unipolar to multipolar, there is a change in the transformation of the geopolitical situation in East Asia. The United States returned to the «traditional» methods of confrontation, increasing tension in the region and the world

America's foreign policy after Biden: What can the Indo‐Pacific region expect?

AbstractWhat might the foreign policy of a potential Trump presidency or that of a Harris presidency look like, and what could their respective implications for the Indo‐Pacific be? The likelihood that Trump will revive his “America First” doctrine, including his trade war with China, suggests that the region may be in for another bumpy ride from a “Trump 2.0.” A Harris presidency will likely continue Biden's policy in engaging deeply (but selectively) with the Indo‐Pacific, while “de‐risking” America from China and resisting Chinese efforts to delimit the global commons and deny others access to it. Whether led by Trump or Harris, it is likely that the United States will proactively take on China but in slightly different ways. In either instance, Southeast Asia stands to benefit if the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries play their cards right, but it will be in terms of their perceived usefulness to America's effort to counter China.

Networks between Ireland and the Irish American Diaspora during the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Abstract This article explores the complex relationship between the network of actors in the United States and Ireland who sought to influence American foreign policy in the Northern Ireland peace process. These networks operated in civil society, representing numerous Irish American organizations linking corporate and church leaders and the media to members of the Irish American diaspora in government to influence the United States’ diplomacy. These Irish American groups and individuals interested in influencing events in Northern Ireland were linked with a wide array of governmental and non-governmental actors in Ireland. Often, Americans were quite deferential to leaders and groups in Ireland and Northern Ireland who sought to mobilize the Irish diaspora in the United States for their cause. Thus, the United States’ role in Ireland and Northern Ireland was not that of a hegemonic power but one of an empathetic actor responding to developments and cues provided by various actors in the Irish context. Transatlantic networking, made more possible due to technological changes in communication and transportation, facilitated increased exchanges of ideas, agents, and information. These networks allowed groups across the Atlantic to elicit support for local groups in Northern Ireland and mobilize the US government to play a political and diplomatic role in the conflict and peace process. Ultimately, the majority of Irish Americans moved from supporting the nationalist/republican side in the early years of the Troubles to becoming strong supporters of the peace process in the 1990s.

Role of sustained democracy in US foreign policy during presidency of Joseph R. Biden

Role of sustained democracy in US foreign policy during presidency of Joseph R. Biden

Foundations, US Foreign Policy and Anti-racism in Brazil: Pushing Racial Democracy

Foundations, US Foreign Policy and Anti-racism in Brazil: Pushing Racial Democracy

The European Response to US Expansion in the Mid-Nineteenth Century

The territorial expansion of the USA in the 1840s represented an important phase on its way to becoming a world power. Historians have paid considerable attention to US foreign policy during this period but have largely neglected the significant impact of US expansion on Europe. Whereas they have written a great deal about European reflections on American democracy or slavery, they have largely overlooked the geopolitical response that US expansion provoked among Europeans during that decade. This omission is surprising given the fact that this reaction spread not only in governmental circles but also among the broad public: the policy of the USA and its position in the Americas became an important topic with serious consequences for both sides of the Atlantic. Europeans often criticized the USA for its aggressive policy, and they feared that with the rise of its power it would behave in the same way in all parts of the world. The article's principal aim is to reveal the European response to US territorial expansion and how the repercussions of this response on the USA contributed to the rise of pan-Europeanism, nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism from the mid-nineteenth century.

Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy: Cooperation in a Polarized Age, written by Jordan Tama

Bipartisanship and US Foreign Policy: Cooperation in a Polarized Age, written by Jordan Tama