Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate

John T. Shaw

Description

An esteemed American foreign policy leader

IU Press podcast.

Two-time chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard G. Lugar has been one of the most widely respected foreign policy experts in Congress for over three decades. In this illuminating profile, John T. Shaw examines Lugar's approach to lawmaking and diplomacy for what it reveals about the workings of the Senate and changes in that institution. Drawing on interviews with Lugar and other leading figures in foreign policy, Shaw chronicles Lugar's historic work on nuclear proliferation, arms control, energy, and global food issues, highlighting the senator's ability to influence American foreign policy in consequential ways. The book presents Lugar's career as an example of the role Congress can play in the shaping of foreign policy in an era of a strong executive branch. It demonstrates the importance of statesmanship in contemporary American political life while acknowledging the limitations of this approach to governance.

Sujets

• International Relations
• Legislative Branch
• American Government
• Political
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Lettres et linguistique
• Diplomacy
• Biography
• Federal government of the United States
• Legislature
• Politics
• Central
• Autobiography
• Diplomatie (homonymie)

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 16 mars 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253007117
• Langue: English

Extrait

RICHARD G. LUGAR,
STATESMAN OF THE SENATE
Crafting Foreign Policy from Capitol Hill

JOHN T. SHAW
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
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© 2012 by John T. Shaw
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
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Manufactured in the United States of America
Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress.
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For Mindy
The Legislator is an indispensible guardian of our freedom. It is true that great executives have played a powerful role in the development of civilization, but such leaders appear sporadically by chance. They do not always appear when they are most needed. The great executives have given inspiration and push to the advancement of human society, but it is the legislator who has given stability and continuity to that slow and painful progress.
J. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT ,
“The Legislator: Duties, Functions and Hardships of Public Officials,” speech delivered at the University of Chicago, February 19, 1946
CONTENTS
Preface
1  Snapshots of a Statesman
2  The Senator from Indiana
3  The Tools of the Trade
4  A World Awash in Weapons
5  Ending the American Addiction to Foreign Oil
6  The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
7  Fixing Foreign Aid
8  Combatting the Global Food Crisis
9  Transforming America’s Relationship with India
10  Sisyphus on the High Seas
11  Arms Control in the Twenty-First Century
12  Tending to the Homefront
13  The Statesman of the Senate
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
PREFACE
Richard G. Lugar has been one of the most influential U.S. senators in the realm of foreign policy for more than a quarter of a century. While he has not always attracted as much attention as some of his Senate colleagues, Lugar’s accomplishments place him in the upper echelon of his contemporaries. He will, I believe, be remembered in the top tier of Senate foreign policy heavyweights, in the company of such historically significant senators as Arthur Vandenberg, Henry Jackson, and J. William Fulbright. Assessing his current work and long-term legacy requires that an analyst confront important and difficult questions: Can a politician also be a statesman? What is the relationship between statesmanship and effectiveness in Congress? Is statesmanship still an effective operating strategy in this charged and polarized political environment? What are the costs and benefits for a lawmaker in adopting the role of a statesman?
I’ve covered Capitol Hill for more than 20 years as a congressional reporter and have had the opportunity to observe many senators closely, including Robert Dole, George Mitchell, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, John Danforth, Edward Kennedy, Al Gore, Mark Hatfield, John Chafee, Lloyd Bentsen, Bill Bradley, John Warner, and Sam Nunn. Lugar has long intrigued me as a throwback to an earlier era when many senators developed expertise in particular areas and embraced the rewards and responsibilities of national leadership. They were effective politicians who were also able and willing to take the long view. Now, in an increasingly polarized, hyper-partisan Washington, senators who place their primary emphasis on advancing the national good are rare. A lifelong and loyal Republican, Lugar is usually willing to put his party label aside and work with members of both parties to tackle the nation’s most serious problems. His most significant collaborations have been with Democrats such as Sam Nunn, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama.
When Time magazine ran profiles of the ten most effective senators several years ago, Lugar was included and called simply “The Wise Man.” The article described him as principled, tough, cool-headed, and ahead of the curve on many policy matters. “He is a quiet, intelligent, steady force,” former senator Bob Kerrey, a long-time Lugar colleague, told Time . “He’s unmovable when he reaches a conclusion about what ought to be done.” 1
During his tenure in the Senate, Lugar has achieved some important successes, including creation of the landmark Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program that has made the United States and the world more secure. He has pushed for the United States to be a powerful actor on the world stage, part of a community of nations that respects the rule of law and international norms. There have also been setbacks. Lugar chaired the Foreign Relations Committee when the Iraq war was launched in 2003 and continued to head up the panel during the critical years of the war. Some, including several of Lugar’s strongest supporters, believe that the senator should have been far more forceful in outlining his concerns about the war. They believe that Lugar, almost uniquely, had the stature to challenge the Bush administration to reassess its plans for the war in Iraq. Instead, he opted for expressing reservations in private meetings—reservations that were largely brushed aside. Though he was well informed and even prescient about the war’s risks, he had only a modest impact on the administration’s Iraq policy. One question that we will consider is whether a more combative style, such as that used by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman J. William Fulbright during the Vietnam War, would have been more effective. Students of the current Senate question whether Lugar’s careful, methodical approach to developing policy can still persuade fellow lawmakers in a political environment that is so polarized and combative.
There are some paradoxes, or at least interesting complexities, surrounding Lugar. He is a conservative Republican who breaks from prevailing party views in such areas as environmental protection, conservation, federal nutrition programs, international law, global institutions such as the United Nations, aggressive HIV / AIDS programs, robust diplomacy, and generous foreign aid. Though modest and self-deprecating, he has a lawmaker’s penchant for naming things after himself, or at least allowing others to do so. His national security program is known as the Lugar Doctrine, his ideas on energy, the Lugar Energy Initiative. He has named scores of awards and internships after himself. There is even the Richard G. Lugar School Food Service Employee of the Year award, given by Indiana’s Department of Education to the school food service employee who demonstrates the most outstanding professionalism.
Though Lugar remains involved in Congress’s legislative struggles, he also has a broader conception of the role of the senator as a kind of statesman who undertakes long-term projects for the national good, even if they have few short-term benefits. In this capacity, Lugar builds networks outside of government, delivers detailed policy speeches, meets with key international leaders, and travels extensively—and without apology. His schedule looks more like that of a deputy foreign minister than a senator. He probably knows more about the internal politics of Russia, Ukraine, and Albania than anyone else in Congress. Lugar has a clear view of how Congress can shape foreign policy. The president, he argues, is the natural leader on foreign policy. But he is convinced that Congress can, and should, play a constructive role in shaping the agenda and solving problems. Lugar has shown how to do so for more than three decades. Consequently, the best way to measure Lugar’s success is not just in the number of bills he has written and passed but also the ways in which he influences debates about American foreign policy.
Lugar’s success as a senator rests on several characteristics of his working style, including the fact that he has developed a formidable political operation at home that gives him considerable running room on Capitol Hill. Being an icon in Indiana has allowed him to be a player in Washington.
Second, Lugar focuses his energies on large, long-term projects. Senators can spend all of their days attending hearings and press conferences, meeting with constituents, and voting—and actually accomplish very little. Lugar is interested in a wide range of international issues but focuses acutely on what he calls the existential issues facing the United States: the need for American energy independence, controlling the spread of weapons of mass destruction and reducing the nuclear arsenals in the world. He is also increasingly passionate about tackling the global food crisis.
Third, mindful of his long-term goals, Lugar is often effective at locking in incremental gains. He knows that in Congress there are far more routine bills than landmark ones and it is imperative to attach parts of your agenda to legislation that is moving through