Congressional Black Caucus and American Foreign Policy

摘要

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is one of the most influential and dynamicgroups in Congress today. This paper traces the history of the CBC, examines its organization, assesses its effectiveness as a corporate body, looks at its acceptance in the black community, and examines the group's impact on formulating American Foreign Policy regarding Sub-Sahara Africa. The purpose of this research project is to examine the role and influence of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) as it relates to American foreign policy regarding Sub-Sahara Africa. An amination of the CBC's history, organization, and operations is provided as well as an analysis of the group's effectiveness is undertaken. Their effectiveness is measured in terms of how they are perceived by key actors in their environment (Congressional staffers, a variety of government officials in the State Department and Agency for International Development (AID), and private lobbying organizations); the amount of influence they yield in terms of obtaining funding for Sub-Sahara Africa; and how the black community views the CBC. Furthermore, a review of criticism CBC operations is presented and analyzed. Finally, the last rtion of this paper addresses recommendations for further search, and looks at the future of the CBC.