ABSTRACT
An important thread in the story of recent US foreign policy-making involves the movement of authority from the State Department to the National Security Council (NSC), especially to the NSC staff and the National Security Adviser. Presidents tend to enter office — Richard Nixon did, Bill Clinton certainly did — with a stated commitment to a strong Department of State and a strong Secretary. Very often, however, this commitment breaks down. It did so very spectacularly in the case of President Nixon; but the same process has also affected other presidencies. This article offers a brief review of Bill Clinton's two Secretaries of State, Warren Christopher (1993–1997) and Madeleine Albright (1997–2001). It focuses particularly on their general orientation to the post, as well as their relationship with other foreign policy principals. The article additionally considers the roles of the two Secretaries in the context of key transatlantic developments in the 1990s, notably concerning the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. By way of setting the stage for this discussion, let us remind ourselves of the particular bureaucratic difficulties faced by any recent or contemporary Secretary of State.
