LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON THE IMPACT OF THE NEW RIGHT ON THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION: KIRKPATRICK & UNESCO AS. A TEST CASE BY Isaac Izy Kfir LONDON 1998 UMI Number: U148638 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U148638 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to investigate whether the Reagan administration was influenced by ‘New Right’ ideas. Foreign policy issues were chosen as test cases because the presidency has more power in this area which is why it could promote an aggressive stance toward the United Nations and encourage withdrawal from UNESCO with little impunity. Chapter 1 deals with American society after 1945. It shows how the ground was set for the rise of Reagan and the New Right as America moved from a strong affinity with New Deal liberalism to a new form of conservatism, which the New Right and Reagan epitomised. Chapter 2 analyses the New Right as a coalition of three distinctive groups: anti-liberals, New Christian Right, and neoconservatives. Each group is examined in turn. Chapter 3 looks at whether the Reagan administration was a New Right administration. The chapter is divided into three sections: economic, social and foreign policy. In each domain one can see the administration’s attempt to fulfil its New Right agenda with varying degrees of success. Chapter 4 investigates Kirkpatrick’s approach to the United Nations. Her themes at the UN (‘America First’, liberty and the Western political system, politicisation and the ‘rights debate’) were very much in line with what the New Right was seeking of Reagan both internally and externally. Chapter 5 examines the reasons behind the American decision to withdraw from UNESCO in 1984. It demonstrates that the reasons for the withdrawal were essentially political, as the justifications given by the administration were weak. In conclusion the essence of the thesis is to show that the Reagan presidency embodied many of the ideas of the New Right. Although in domestic policy its success was debatable. However, in foreign policy and especially in US-UN and US- UNESCO relationships the ideas of the New Right were predominant. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This study is a product of a long fascination of mine with the United States of America and the Reagan Presidency. The election of Ronald W. Reagan in November 1980 led to a tremendous change in America and world society which only now we are beginning to appreciate and understand due to the growth of conservatism in the United States. My interest in the United Nations is essentially based on my belief that this remarkable institution can help save us from making costly mistakes. I truly believe that our future depends very much on how we can best use the organisation to solve many of the problems that we are faced with as we head toward the new millennium. Not surprisingly I owe much to many people. I would like to begin with my family whose encouragement and support has been above and beyond anything that I could have expected or even hoped for. I will forever be in their debt which is why this research is dedicated to them. My greatest intellectual debt is to the University of Buckingham. Its unique method of teaching coupled with a truly exceptional staff has been crucial to my development. Much of that credit should go to Dr. John Clarke who may have had little to say concerning this research, but the impact of his mind, outlook and general attitude has left a deep impression on me for which I would be eternally grateful. Last but certainly not least, I would like to extend special thanks to Mr. Nicholas A. Sims, my supervisor at LSE. His diligent reading of my drafts combined with very helpful comments based on his vast knowledge of United Nations matters have saved me from making numerous mistakes, and any errors or omissions are mine and mine alone to bear. Isaac Izy Kfir London 13/10/1998 CONTENTS ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABBREVIATION INTRODUCTION p 7 - 22 CHAPTER 1 The United States, 1945-1980: A Brief History of a Superpower p 23 - 59 CHAPTER 2 The New Right: The Development of An Ideology p 60 - 104 CHAPTER 3 The Reagan Presidency, 1981-1989: Success & Failure of a New Right Agenda p 105 - 142 CHAPTER 4 The New Right and the United Nations: The Kirkpatrick Era, 1981-1985 pl43 - 187 CHAPTER 5 UNESCO and the United States: The Reagan Years, 1981-1984 p 188-234 CONCLUSION p 235 - 248 BIBLIOGRAPHY p 249-271 5 ABBREVIATION AEI - American Enterprise Institute. AFL - American Federation of Labour. AID - Agency for International Development. AP - Associated Press. ASNE - American Society of Newspaper Editors. BJU - Bob Jones University. CBN - Christian Broadcasting Network. CBO - Congressional Budget Office. CEA - Council of Economic Advisers. CIA - Central Intelligence Agency. CWA - Concerned Women for America. DLC - Democratic Leadership Council. EPA - Environment Protection Agency. ERA - Equal Rights for Women Amendment. FEA - Federal Housing Administration. GAO - General Accounting Office. GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade. GOP - Grand Old Party. HHS - Health & Human Services Department. IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency. IAPA - Inter-American Press Association. ILO - International Labour Organisation. IMF - International Monetary Fund. NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement. NIEO - New International Economic Order. NIIO - New International Information Order. NJM - New Jewel Movement. NSC - National Security Council. OAS - Organisation of American States. OECS - Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. OMB - Office of Management & Budget. OPEC - Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OSS - Office of Strategic Studies. PACs - Political Action Committees. SALT - Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. SCLC - Southern Christian Leadership Conference. SDI - Strategic Defence Initiatives. UNESCO - United Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organisation. UPI - United Press International. USIA - United States Information Agency. WHO - World Health Organisation. WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organisation. WMO - World Meteorological Organisation. WTO - World Trade Organisation. YAF - Young Americans for Freedom. 7 INTRODUCTION As we head toward a new millennium we are witnessing the transformation of our society. The twentieth century has been an eventful one as mankind entered outer space, cyberspace and the deep oceans in a desire to conquer a new frontier. We have witnessed the removal of social and political barriers that have existed for decades and centuries in some cases with tremendous ramifications for the development of contemporary society. Most of the achievements and revolutions of this century have emanated in one form or another from the United States of America which stands high above many of the previous empires that have graced human history. The US emerged out of the ashes of the Second World War as the most powerful country in the world, while the Cold War enabled it to shape much of the postwar world, in many instances in its own image, as Japan and Germany can testify. The elections of 1980 in the United States not only brought in a new president, they also marked the beginning of revolution in American society. The suggestion that Reagan presided over a revolutionary period in American history may at first glance be rather surprising as Reagan was one of the most ideologically conservative presidents in American history (and conservatives are suppose to oppose radical change). However, Reagan with his rather simplistic message was greatly responsible for a major domestic transformation, while in foreign policy he restored American predominance and arguably hammered the final nail in the Soviet Union’s coffin.1 The 1980 elections brought into the political fray a new force in the shape of the t£New Right.” This force remained even after Reagan and his successor, George Bush left the White House and it is arguably its legacy that has been responsible for an internal crisis in the United States that the successes of Pat 1 C. Weinberger. Fighting For Peace: Seven Critical Years At the Pentagon. London: Michael Joseph, 1990; G.P Shultz. Turmoil & Triumph: Mv Years as Secretary of State. NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1993. Shultz suggests that it was Reagan’s toughness and vision concerning SDI that hastened if not dealt the fatal blow that led to the collapse of the Soviet empire. 8 Buchanan in the Louisiana, Ohio, and New England primaries2 and the Oklahoma bombing3 have highlighted. Another prime example of Reagan’s and the 1980s New Right legacy is the power that the Religious Right wields in US and Republican Party politics, especially through the Christian Coalition (which could be regarded as the Moral Majority’s successor).4 This is why when the Coalition held its annual convention in Washington DC (September 8 and 9, 1995,) a long procession of presidential hopefuls came to gain its support. Social conservatives such as Patrick Buchanan,