The Research On Carter Administration’s Human Rights Diplomacy Toward Indonesia

Human rights gradually evolved into a hot topic in American diplomacy in the1970 s.After the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal,the international and domestic image of the United States plummeted.Under the background of the Cold War,President Carter,who took office in 1977,launched human rights diplomacy in order to surpass the Soviet Union morally while improving its international image.Based on Indonesia’s important strategic position in Southeast Asia,the United States has been implementing a policy of wooing it to maintain the dominant position of the United States in Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War and to curb the development of communist forces in this region.In 1976,the fate of political prisoners accused of participating in the 1965 military coup and Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor led to a strong public pressure on human rights in Indonesia.Although the United States has always had a good relationship with Suharto,Carter,who took the slogan of "human rights",cannot ignore the human rights atrocities in Indonesia.However,on the face of it,urging Indonesia to release political prisoners shows the positive side of Carter’s human-rights diplomacy,while ignoring Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor to curb communism shows the utilitarian side.Based on the investigation of official archives,this paper analyzes the Carter Administration’s practice of human rights diplomacy in Indonesia,and holds that the human rights issue is an important way for the United States to conduct diplomatic intervention in Indonesia,but the cold war in Asia requires the United States to control human rights diplomacy within a certain range.The Carter Administration,while urging the release of political prisoners,allowed Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor to trigger a more serious humanitarian crisis,which was criticized by international human rights advocates and exposed American double standards on human rights.