Turf war: The Clinton administration and Northern Ireland

This dissertation is a study of the policy of the Clinton administration towards Northern Ireland in the years 1993--94. Its central argument is that the policy, which marked a decisive shift in U.S. behavior, was the product of an internal turf war. The policy shift resulted from institutional and personal rivalry within the U.S. government rather than being caused by the intrinsic merits of the Northern Ireland issue. This is a study not of the effect of U.S. policy on Northern Ireland but of the impact of the Northern Ireland question on the Clinton administration.; It is argued that the turf war between the two primary institutions of American foreign policy---the White House (incorporating the National Security Council staff) and the Department of State---fundamentally altered American diplomacy in Northern Ireland. The turf war led to an assertion of high-level control by men and women close to the president and the denial of influence to mid-level officers at the State Department who had controlled American policy in Ireland for over 70 years.; Positions on the issue were taken on the basis of personal predilection rather than bureaucratic interest. Indeed, victory in the turf war over NI policy went to those officials who were not merely politically but personally committed to successful American engagement. Key members of the Clinton team succeeded in reordering the political relationships central to American foreign policymaking. The thesis explains how and why they were able to do this---and the consequences of their doing so.; The thesis challenges the received wisdom which argues that the policy was the result of events on the ground in Northern Ireland, and that Congress was the key to Clinton's new look Irish policy. The conclusion offered here is that the policy was a compound of domestic political calculation and foreign policy imperatives and was conducted as an internal turf war between institutional protagonists.