The Carter Presidency John Dumbrell Summary

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Dumbrell, John. The Carter Presidency A re-evaluation. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1995. John Dumbrell served as Professor of Government in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, in the United Kingdom. Dumbrell specialized in U.S. government and politics. He is author of several books including another work focusing on Carter; American Foreign Policy: Carter to Clinton. Dumbrell argues that Carter was committed to human rights. He argues that this commitment was reflected in the President’s domestic and foreign policy initiatives. The author further suggests that perception of Carter’s lack of success is due more to the actions of his key policy advisors, Washington bureaucracy …show more content…

He states despite a clear agenda towards improving civil rights and economic equality, there was a perception that Carter cared more about human rights overseas than he did in America. Post liberalism fiscal conservatism and foreign criticism of American domestic civil liberties made Carter’s efforts harder (p.64). The media was responsible for furthering this image. Carter’s personal beliefs on abortion, and his allowing the abortion issue to be settled by congress and the courts, hurt his support from women’s groups. This sparked opposition from prominent feminist movements. Carter also failed to have the Equal Rights Amendment ratified, further diminishing his domestic human rights …show more content…

He was essentially unsuccessful in compelling these countries to make moves towards changing practices to end the human rights abuses Carter’s administration perceived. President Carter’s attempts to address human rights issues with the Soviets made nuclear arms talks more difficult, resulting in an agreement that was not accept by Congress. He also loses détente, and severely damages working relations with the Soviets. In Nicaragua and Iran Carter started with a human rights-based approach but resorted to siding with leaders who were actively conducting human rights violations. Carter supported these countries, disregarding their human rights abuses for the sake strategic national security reasons, similar to what previous administrations had done. Dumbrell concludes his arguments that Carter was committed to human rights policies but his administration was poorly organized and somewhat unsuccessful in promoting human rights. National security interests outweighed Carter’s good intentions resulting in America openly supporting several human rights violating countries. He states that ultimately government bureaucracy and personality splits between his key foreign policy advisors hampered efforts to achieve his

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