The World of Jimmy Carter: U.S. Foreign Policy, 1977-1981.

1996 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 1313
Author(s):  
Richard C. Thornton ◽  
Timothy P. Maga
2000 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Philip Zelikow ◽  
Robert A. Strong

Author(s):  
Robert Mason

Issues of foreign policy were central to presidential politics in 1980. Not only did the Iran hostage crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan raise disturbing questions about America’s strength in the world, but, crucially, Jimmy Carter identified foreign policy as a way to salvage his political fortunes. The strategy, which reflected the bleakness of his domestic record, managed to score some successes. But these successes were incomplete. Impatience with limits on American power overseas was pushing public opinion toward hawkish skepticism of negotiation, assisting the late 1970s Republican revitalization, and allowing Ronald Reagan to unlock an anti-Carter mandate in which malaise about America’s standing overseas was as significant as the malaise about the domestic situation.


Author(s):  
Michael N. Barnett

How do American Jews envision their role in the world? Are they tribal—a people whose obligations extend solely to their own? Or are they prophetic—a light unto nations, working to repair the world? This book is an interpretation of the effects of these worldviews on the foreign policy beliefs of American Jews since the nineteenth century. The book argues that it all begins with the political identity of American Jews. As Jews, they are committed to their people's survival. As Americans, they identify with, and believe their survival depends on, the American principles of liberalism, religious freedom, and pluralism. This identity and search for inclusion form a political theology of prophetic Judaism that emphasizes the historic mission of Jews to help create a world of peace and justice. The political theology of prophetic Judaism accounts for two enduring features of the foreign policy beliefs of American Jews. They exhibit a cosmopolitan sensibility, advocating on behalf of human rights, humanitarianism, and international law and organizations. They also are suspicious of nationalism—including their own. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that American Jews are natural-born Jewish nationalists, the book charts a long history of ambivalence; this ambivalence connects their early rejection of Zionism with the current debate regarding their attachment to Israel. And, the book contends, this growing ambivalence also explains the rising popularity of humanitarian and social justice movements among American Jews.


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