Considerations sur la politique etrangere du President Clinton

In: Studia diplomatica: Brussels journal of international relations, Band 52, Heft 1-2, S. 101-112

Abstract

The foreign policy approach taken by President Bill Clinton, characterized as the first president to have to deal directly with the change in world politics resulting from the fall of communism & the end of the Cold War, is analyzed, & it is determined that Clinton's power grew in his first term, was solidified in his second term, & that both terms were generally marked by an increasingly interventionist ideology. International changes that occurred before Clinton's presidency, but which set the tone for his time in office, including the Gulf War, attempts at peace negotiation between Israel & Palestine, the conflicts in the Balkans, & the replacement of the USSR with the Community of Independent States, are said to have transformed international politics from a bipolar system into a multipolar system. It is held that Clinton dealt with this new environment by using a multiplicity of structures within the US government, including the State, Defense, & Commerce Depts. Clinton's interventionist approach is contrasted with the growing isolationism of many Republicans, but it is suggested that even with a new president, American foreign policy is unlikely to experience any dramatic changes. D. Weibel