Congress, Kissinger, and the Origins of Human Rights Diplomacy

摘要

The Congressional “human rights insurgency” of 1973–1977 centered on the holding of public hearings to shame countries engaging in human rights abuses and on legislation cutting off aid and trade to violators. Drawing on recently declassified documents, this article shows that the State Department's thoroughly intransigent response to Congressional human rights legislation, particularly Section 502B, was driven by Kissinger alone, against the advice of his closest advisers. Many State Department officials, usually from a mixture of pragmatism and conviction, argued for cooperation with Congress or for taking the initiative on human rights issues. Kissinger's adamant refusal to cooperate left Congress to implement a reactive, punitive, and unilateral approach that would set the human rights agenda long after the Ford administration left office.