April 16
The Rise and Fall of Human Rights Diplomacy


Jimmy Carter at the swearing in of Patricia Derian (left), the first assistant secretary of state for human rights.

 
Jimmy Carter's foreign policy remains the subject of considerable controversy. To what extent was Carter responsible for the relative decline in US power between 1977 and 1981? How should historians judge the success of his human rights diplomacy?

READINGS:

bullet IPS Case Study, "Managing the Fall of a Friendly Dictator."

DOCUMENTS:

bullet Carter administration: draft statement, human rights policy, 1977

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