Mixed Signals

by Sikkink, Kathryn

• ISBN13: 9780801474194
• ISBN10: 0801474191
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

Kathryn Sikkink believes that the adoption of human rights policy represents a positive change in the relationship between the United States and Latin America. In Mixed Signals she traces a gradual but remarkable shift in U.S. foreign policy over the last generation. By the 1970s, an unthinking anticommunist stance had tarnished the reputation of the U.S. government throughout Latin America, associating Washington with tyrannical and often brutally murderous regimes. Sikkink recounts the reemergence of human rights as a substantive concern, showing how external pressures from activist groups and the institution of a human rights bureau inside the State Department have combined to remake Washington's agenda, and its image, in Latin America. The current war against terrorism, Sikkink warns, could repeat the mistakes of the past unless we insist that the struggle against terrorism be conducted with respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Author Biography

Kathryn Sikkink is the Arleen C. Carlson Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
The Origins of Human Rights Policies
Introduction to the Origins of Human Rights Policies	p. 3
The Idea of Internationally Recognized Human Rights	p. 23
The Reemergence of Human Rights in U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1970s	p. 48
Effectiveness of Human Rights Policies
Introduction to the Effectiveness of Human Rights Policies	p. 79
U.S. Human Rights Policy during the Nixon and Ford Administrations	p. 106
The Carter Administration and Human Rights Policy toward Latin America	p. 121
The Reagan Administration and Human Rights Policy toward Latin America	p. 148
Institutionalizing Human Rights Policy toward Latin America during the George H. W. Bush and Clinton Years	p. 181
Conclusion: The Lessons of Human Rights Policies	p. 208
Notes	p. 221
Index	p. 251
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