“The international standing of the United States had changed little between 1970 and 1980”
Assess the validity of this view. (25 marks)
The international standing of the United States had changed little between 1970 and 1980.
Ford and Carter clearly struggled to impose themselves in foreign policy and whilst they
attempted to differentiate themselves from the tainted reputation of their predecessors with
an excessive fixation on the promotion of human rights, their international standing ultimately
had changed little. The three factors that will be discussed in this essay in relation to whether
the international standing of the United States had changed are the continuation of Nixon
and Kissinger’s policies, the damage of US prestige and focus on human rights. The main
line of argument in this essay will be that the international standing of the United States had
changed little between 1970 and 1980.
The international standing of the United States had changed little between 1970 and 1980
as Nixon and Kissinger’s policies were continued. Nixon and Kissingers policies of detente,
realpolitik and their engineering of ‘peace and honour’ was something which continued in the
1970s and 1980s. For example, the continuation of detente with the Soviets was displayed in
the 1975 Helsinki Accords which recognised the existing boundaries of European countries
established at the end of WWI. This was drafted in continuation of detente and suggested
that the USSR was willing to improve relations with the US which was a clear foreign policy
success. Additionally, in 1974 Ford agreed to the Vladivostok accords which created an
outline for a successor treaty to SALT II which was a big foreign policy success under Nixon,
further highlighting the continuation of Nixon and Kissinger’s policies of detente and how the
international relationship with the USSR remained fairly the same. The demise of detente,
which also occurred in 1972 when the Soviets tested warheads despite signing the SALT
agreement, also happened again when Soviets and Americans turned against the idea of
detente. This further displayed how the international standing of the United States had
changed little between 1970 and 1980 as despite multiple attempts to pursue detente with
the Soviets, they were still at the same place which they started. The policy of realpolitik was
also demonstrated when Carter continued detente with China; by formally recognising the
communist regime of China in 1979 in an attempt to improve relations, Carter abandoned
Taiwan and severed ties with them. Carter revoked the 1955 Mutual Defense Treaty with
Taiwan highlighting his emphasis on protecting US interests rather than morality, a policy
which Kissinger and Nixon similarly imposed. In this way, the international standing of the
US changed little between 1970 and 1980 as they continued to put national interest over the
same human rights they were supposedly committed to promoting. Additionally, the
continuation of ‘peace and honour’ was demonstrated and the US continued to establish
peace in foreign policy areas such as Vietnam and the Middle East. For example, Ford was
able to successfully extricate the US from the debilitating Vietnam war and began the
process of national healing as he evacuated the 6000 US personnel left in South Vietnam
finally ending the war once for all . Furthermore, the US continued to act as mediator
between countries in the Middle East; similarly to how Nixon and Kissinger restrained Israel
and improved relations with Egypt following the joint attack on Israel in 1975, Ford acted as
a mediator in the Camp David Accords. The accords stipulated that Israel would withdraw
from the Sinai peninsula, the US would monitor so neither side would attack and they would
recognise each other's government and Israel pledged to negotiate with Palestinians for
peace. This was extremely significant as it was the first time since 1905 that a US president
had mediated effectively in a major dispute between two other nations. The US had
Assess the validity of this view. (25 marks)
The international standing of the United States had changed little between 1970 and 1980.
Ford and Carter clearly struggled to impose themselves in foreign policy and whilst they
attempted to differentiate themselves from the tainted reputation of their predecessors with
an excessive fixation on the promotion of human rights, their international standing ultimately
had changed little. The three factors that will be discussed in this essay in relation to whether
the international standing of the United States had changed are the continuation of Nixon
and Kissinger’s policies, the damage of US prestige and focus on human rights. The main
line of argument in this essay will be that the international standing of the United States had
changed little between 1970 and 1980.
The international standing of the United States had changed little between 1970 and 1980
as Nixon and Kissinger’s policies were continued. Nixon and Kissingers policies of detente,
realpolitik and their engineering of ‘peace and honour’ was something which continued in the
1970s and 1980s. For example, the continuation of detente with the Soviets was displayed in
the 1975 Helsinki Accords which recognised the existing boundaries of European countries
established at the end of WWI. This was drafted in continuation of detente and suggested
that the USSR was willing to improve relations with the US which was a clear foreign policy
success. Additionally, in 1974 Ford agreed to the Vladivostok accords which created an
outline for a successor treaty to SALT II which was a big foreign policy success under Nixon,
further highlighting the continuation of Nixon and Kissinger’s policies of detente and how the
international relationship with the USSR remained fairly the same. The demise of detente,
which also occurred in 1972 when the Soviets tested warheads despite signing the SALT
agreement, also happened again when Soviets and Americans turned against the idea of
detente. This further displayed how the international standing of the United States had
changed little between 1970 and 1980 as despite multiple attempts to pursue detente with
the Soviets, they were still at the same place which they started. The policy of realpolitik was
also demonstrated when Carter continued detente with China; by formally recognising the
communist regime of China in 1979 in an attempt to improve relations, Carter abandoned
Taiwan and severed ties with them. Carter revoked the 1955 Mutual Defense Treaty with
Taiwan highlighting his emphasis on protecting US interests rather than morality, a policy
which Kissinger and Nixon similarly imposed. In this way, the international standing of the
US changed little between 1970 and 1980 as they continued to put national interest over the
same human rights they were supposedly committed to promoting. Additionally, the
continuation of ‘peace and honour’ was demonstrated and the US continued to establish
peace in foreign policy areas such as Vietnam and the Middle East. For example, Ford was
able to successfully extricate the US from the debilitating Vietnam war and began the
process of national healing as he evacuated the 6000 US personnel left in South Vietnam
finally ending the war once for all . Furthermore, the US continued to act as mediator
between countries in the Middle East; similarly to how Nixon and Kissinger restrained Israel
and improved relations with Egypt following the joint attack on Israel in 1975, Ford acted as
a mediator in the Camp David Accords. The accords stipulated that Israel would withdraw
from the Sinai peninsula, the US would monitor so neither side would attack and they would
recognise each other's government and Israel pledged to negotiate with Palestinians for
peace. This was extremely significant as it was the first time since 1905 that a US president
had mediated effectively in a major dispute between two other nations. The US had
