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The Clinton Administration

Containing Iran

  • Chapter
Navigating Iran

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Abstract

By appointing many of former President Carter’s foreign policy officials, President Bill Clinton merged New Internationalism with economic liberalism to produce Liberal Internationalism. This entailed basing international relations on a peaceful global society, guided by international organizations and nourished by free trade. Serving a president harboring a self-acknowledged disinterest in foreign policy were the standard-bearers of this philosophy: National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, Assistant Secretary of Defense Joseph S. Nye, and Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Lake wanted America to nurture “a world where tolerance, freedom, and democracy prevail”; to this end, Nye advocated “soft power” nostrums, such as confidence-building measures, international dialogue, and a strong role for nongovernmental organizations. They envisioned a strong network of global institutions anchored in the United Nations that would administer a judicious mix of foreign policy “carrots and sticks.” Their assertive multilateralism would address the “root causes” of international problems, such as disparities of wealth and power, yielding, to Carter, a “meaningful peace.”1

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Notes

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© 2012 Ofira Seliktar

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Seliktar, O. (2012). The Clinton Administration. In: Navigating Iran. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137010889_6

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