Hearing of Jimmy Carter’s death took me back to 1976. This year was a turning point for me as I entered adulthood. The first time I paid attention to Carter as his bicentennial year began was his victory in the Iowa caucuses. I followed his campaign after high school through the summer I drove back and forth for the first time between my summer job at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, and New Smyrna Beach. I took my first college course in American politics that fall, learned about Carter’s campaign, and proudly cast my first vote for him in November.
My enthusiasm for Carter was driven by many things: his relative youth, his progressive brand of politics, and his promise of honesty and integrity after the scandals of the Nixon era.
My interest in Carter continued. A few years into my doctoral program, when I completed my political science program, I proposed writing my dissertation on Carter’s foreign policy. My advisor was against it at first, but after I kept insisting that this was a worthwhile topic, he relented.
Carter, who left office after one term with low approval ratings, is often dismissed as a failure. Mr. Carter’s widespread acclaim over the years revolved around his dedication to combating tropical diseases, election oversight, promoting human rights, and extolling the power of dialogue as a path to peace.
Former US President Jimmy Carter dies at 100 years old
However, as I discuss in my book Reversal Course, Carter compiled a highly successful diplomatic record that was unfairly overshadowed by events, particularly the Iranian revolution and the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, over which Carter had little control. .
With America’s global reputation in turmoil during the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, Carter recognized the urgency of restoring the moral foundations of American foreign policy through the defense of human rights. He understood that a sense of moral purpose was not only essential to American leadership abroad, but also necessary to gain support at home for America’s expanding role in the world.
Carter’s human rights policies had a significant practical impact. The United States’ vocal support for human rights has given added legitimacy and importance to the growing human rights advocacy efforts of nongovernmental and international organizations. Authoritarian governments have come to realize that systematic human rights violations have real costs. Perhaps the global dissemination of human rights norms contributed to the subsequent collapse of the Soviet-controlled communist bloc and the spread of democracy in many countries around the world.
Even more impressive, Carter’s presidency demonstrated the power of diplomacy. Carter embraced diplomacy as a tool to resolve early conflicts before they spiral out of control and to find a path to peace and reconciliation when escalation had already occurred.
This approach has yielded great results. The SALT II arms control agreement with the Soviet Union ended a dangerous and costly nuclear arms race (although the Senate did not ratify it, both countries complied with the terms of the agreement). The Panama Canal Treaty removed a potential threat to the canal’s security while also eliminating a constant irritant in U.S.-Latin American relations. China’s diplomatic recognition set the stage for China to strengthen its integration with the existing global political and economic order.
The Camp David Accords removed Egypt and Jordan as military threats to Israel’s security, while the transition to black majority rule in Zimbabwe, brokered by the United States and Britain, ended a bloody civil war. The successful conclusion of the Tokyo Round of trade negotiations sustained progress towards a more open global economy. It is hard to think of another president who has used diplomacy more effectively to serve America’s major interests.
Carter’s record was not without blemishes. As his domestic political opponents unfairly painted his emphasis on human rights and diplomacy as evidence of weakness, Mr. Carter increasingly ill-advisedly sought opportunities to prove his strength, with little effect. Ta.
A foreign policy that prioritizes diplomacy and widely shared values cannot solve all problems. Nevertheless, as the American century faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, we as a nation should seek lessons from President Carter and his post-presidential record.
I finally had the good fortune to meet and shake Jimmy Carter’s hand many years ago when he and Rosalynn Carter spoke at Drake University. Carter provided both political inspiration and academic subject matter for me over the years, and I will miss his presence in our national life.
This article was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch, a States Newsroom affiliate.
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