ABSTRACT
James Meernik and Elizabeth Oldmixon contend that ‘an effective foreign policy provides benefits to all those residing in the United States’ (Meernik and Oldmixon 2008: 189). This chapter argues first that for much of American history a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) power elite has presided over western-centred and racialised foreign policies that are indifferent and divergent to the policy preferences of African-Americans; Second, that scholars have overlooked, and ignored the foreign affairs activities and preferences of (American) non-whites; and, third, scholars have assumed that AfricanAmericans have had no sustained interest in foreign affairs (Plummer 1996: 1). However, changing demographics and increased cultural diversity suggest that the traditional parameters of US foreign policy face emerging challenges from below. This chapter foregrounds race and US foreign policy, an increasingly important but under-researched topic which is interwoven into the political tapestry of American politics. This chapter is part of a nascent brand of scholarship that provides an introductory
analysis of six new directions in US foreign policy scholarship. First, the framers of US foreign policy extended the notion of white supremacy beyond the shores of America. Second, the academy’s tradition of separating domestic and foreign affairs has fostered an intellectual rigidity which inadequately acknowledges the permeability of race as a theory of political power. Third, African-Americans have a historic and underacknowledged tradition of engaging with foreign affairs; in addition to framing their domestic struggle within the broader context of a global struggle against white hegemony. Fourth, at critical historical junctures, such as the cold war, domestic and foreign affairs forced America to modify its foreign policy. Fifth, state repression undermined African-American internationalism pertaining to Africa and the African Diaspora. Sixth, African-American internationalism was largely grounded in racial concerns and identity politics. The 2008 presidential campaign raised questions with regard to whether race, age,
or gender are significant factors which would impact on the worldview or foreign
policy agendas of Senators John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. This chapter argues that the intersection of race and US foreign policy has been and is an integral feature of US politics and that few scholars ‘have sought to place the construction of whiteness in the context of US foreign policy’ (Horne 1999: 437). This chapter challenges the idea that American elites have been impervious to America’s racial conventions due to enlightened perceptions of global politics. Moreover, the chapter maintains that issues of race and ethnicity need to be more fully explored with regard to US engagement with global politics. The chapter is divided into seven sections detailing discussions on race, the candidacy of Barack Obama, the foreign policy establishment, African-Americans and US foreign policy, race and ethnicity in contemporary foreign policies, and the future implications of race and US foreign policy.
