Leiden University Student Repository

Meer, Noor ter (2020)

Between morality and power: the Carter administration and South African apartheid

Master thesis | North American Studies (MA)

When Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his administration’s stage to illustrate their moralistic foreign policy which was based on the promotion of human rights. Whereas Carter’s commitment to human rights was motivated by his personal experiences during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, his National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was led by strategic considerations which could advance the American position in the Cold War. These conflicting approaches to a human rights policy resulted in a vague, often hypocritical, and quickly shifting policy, which started with a strong moral undertone and focus on human rights, yet ended with economic and strategic considerations as the top priorities of the administration. Through its in-depth analysis of primary sources, this study has sought to research the change in the Carter...Show moreWhen Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his administration’s stage to illustrate their moralistic foreign policy which was based on the promotion of human rights. Whereas Carter’s commitment to human rights was motivated by his personal experiences during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, his National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was led by strategic considerations which could advance the American position in the Cold War. These conflicting approaches to a human rights policy resulted in a vague, often hypocritical, and quickly shifting policy, which started with a strong moral undertone and focus on human rights, yet ended with economic and strategic considerations as the top priorities of the administration. Through its in-depth analysis of primary sources, this study has sought to research the change in the Carter administration’s human rights policy towards South Africa, thereby also discussing the general changes within the foundations of the administration’s foreign policy.Show less

American foreign policy

human rights

Jimmy Carter

Zbigniew Brzezinski

South Africa

apartheid

racism

Author

Meer, Noor ter

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Schmidli, W.M.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en