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2 - US Human Rights Policy and the Trump Administration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2020

By
Stephen Pomper  and
Daniel Levine-Spound
Edited by
Gerald L. Neuman
Gerald L. Neuman
Affiliation:
Harvard Law School, Massachusetts
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Summary

This chapter explores the effects of the Trump presidency in human rights foreign policy. Taking into account the mixed character of U.S. foreign policy in previous decades, it provides a measured account of how the populist rhetoric of “America First” was translated into concrete actions, initially under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and more intensely under National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The disorganization of the administration has left room for career officers to implement a relatively traditional human rights policy in some areas. The Trump administration has departed most significantly from past administrations in declining to embrace the core principles on which human rights policy is based. Its support of strongmen because of – not in spite of – their authoritarian qualities may leave its most distinct (and damaging) human rights legacy.

Keywords

Populismhuman rights policyDonald TrumpRex TillersonJohn BoltonauthoritarianismUnited StatesUS foreign policy
Type
Chapter
Information
Human Rights in a Time of Populism
Challenges and Responses
 , pp. 20 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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