The Political Reconstruction of Protecting National Interests: Why the United States Negotiated and Signed but Did Not Ratify the 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The United States negotiated and signed the 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions designed to significantly improve the protection of civilians during times of conflict, but later chose not to ratify the treaty. Until now, most explanations for this puzzle have focused on the role of external pressures, rather than domestic forces, to explain the fate of Protocol I. This thesis analyzes over 7,600 pages of the official negotiating record, declassified Department of State and Department of Defense reports during and following the negotiations, as well as interviews with key personnel in the Carter and Reagan administrations, to assess the relationship between U.S. national interests and U.S. foreign policy positions in the construction of the 1977 Additional Protocols. The historical record reveals that the U.S. had explicit national interests in the negotiations that drove negotiators’ approach, strategy, and ultimate success, as determined by the Carter Administration and the Joint Chiefs of Staff within the Defense Department. The U.S. delegation actively sought provisions that were militarily and politically acceptable to the U.S. and signed onto an agreement that furthered national interests, as determined by the administration, priming the U.S. for ratification. However, the ultimate decision to not submit the Protocol for Senate ratification reveals a clear shift in the analysis of the effects of the final text across the Carter and Reagan Administrations. This thesis finds that the alignment of Protocol I with the protection of U.S. national security interests was no longer interpreted as such as new personnel entered under the subsequent Reagan administration. Such an analysis reveals the political construction and re-interpretation of the protection of fundamental national interests, yielding significantly different outcomes. It also reveals the impact of nuanced individual interpretations on matters critical to national security. These findings pose serious concerns for the consistent realization of U.S. national interests, the continuity of U.S. global leadership, and the credibility of U.S. commitments internationally.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date modified | December 5, 2022 |
| Publication date | June 1, 2022; May 2022 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Koch, Alexandra |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor | Sagan, Scott |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University |
| Department | Center for International Security and Cooperation |
Subjects
| Subject | International law |
|---|---|
| Subject | Diplomatic negotiations in international disputes |
| Subject | Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts |
| Subject | Humanitarian law |
| Subject | Regulating military conduct |
| Subject | U.S. foreign policy |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Koch, A. (2022). The Political Reconstruction of Protecting National Interests: Why the United States Negotiated and Signed but Did Not Ratify the 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/vd777dg4556
Collection
Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies, Theses
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