Clinton became the first US president to assume office since the end of the cold war"and the collapse of the USSR. Thisunipolar moment Special hopes were pinned on America throughout the world. The ideas of democracy and the protection of human rights were more popular than ever before, and the possibilities ofhumanitarian interventions to resolve the most acute regional conflicts. In the economic sphere, the principles of the so-calledWashington Consensus : the need to maintain strict financial discipline, free trade, privatization, tax reduction, openness to foreign investment.

It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that it was during Clinton’s two presidential terms that hopes of turning the United States into a “benevolent hegemon,” wisely and fairly guiding the development of global politics and economics in the right direction, were first seriously shaken and then completely collapsed as a result of events 1998-1999, US reaction to the “Asian financial crisis” and the bombing of Yugoslavia. Despite the great desire and enthusiasm of the Democratic administration to develop new foreign policy approaches to strengthen the international authority of the United States, by 2000-2001 its policies led to a rise in the wave of anti-Americanism in different parts of the world, and within the United States contributed to the growth of popularityneoconservatism - an ideology that substantiates the need for more decisive behavior by the United States on the world stage, using all available means, including the military, to spread democracy and other American values.

Clinton's foreign policy consisted almost entirely of paradoxes. While talking about the responsibility of the United States and other great powers for preventing humanitarian disasters around the world, the American president failed to put this idea into practice. After the death of several American peacekeepers in Somalia, Clinton decided in March 1994 to withdraw troops from this crisis-torn African country. In 1995, the United States did not dare intervene to stop the terrible massacre in Rwanda, where more than half a million people died during the civil war.

A vocal critic of his predecessor, George H. W. Bush, for “pandering to Chinese dictators”, Clinton became famous as a consistent lobbyist for Chinese interests, year after year pushing through Congress to pass MFN trade status legislation for Beijing, despite numerous examples of human rights violations. in China. In 1998, during a trip to East Asia, Clinton held extensive negotiations with the Chinese leadership, but did not even stop by to visit old allies, the Japanese and South Koreans.

Clinton was an active supporter of international integration and believed that the involvement of the most different countries, including those governed by authoritarian regimes, into a system of economic and political interdependence will ensure in the near future general democratization and prosperity. However, the financial crisis that began in 1997 in East Asia and then spread throughout the world showed the leadership and residents of many countries that trusted the United States that US-controlled international financial organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, are in no hurry to provide selfless assistance to the victims. The receipt of loans was conditional on the implementation of tough structural reforms and the restructuring of national economies in accordance with the principles of the “Washington Consensus”. This turned almost the entire world against the United States; integration and globalization became dirty words, especially in developing countries.

In Europe, Clinton's main foreign policy problem was civil war in the former Yugoslavia. A humanitarian crisis was unfolding in the very heart of the Old World. During his first presidential term, the Clinton administration managed to achieve some reduction in tensions as a result of the Dayton Accords (1995). However, subsequently the United States was unable to maintain impartiality and equidistance from all parties to the conflict. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was declared the main culprit of the ongoing clashes and ethnic cleansing. In 1999, the United States took part in a NATO operation that included the bombing of Yugoslav cities. Formally, it ended in success, Milosevic was removed from power and brought before the international court - however, the methods used by the United States and its allies, their excessive emphasis on their own moral infallibility, created the ground for future conflicts.

The period of the 90s, which included Bill Clinton's tenure in power (1993-2000), was characterized by significant changes within the state itself and on the world stage. The main policy parameters of his administration were developed by Clinton in his “People First” program. How we can all change America together.” One of the key points was the government's focus on the needs of the population, i.e. issues of social policy. Clinton proposed investing more than $50 billion in various social programs. per year for the next 4 years. The main points of the Clinton program were: economic conversion, restructuring of the tax structure (creating a system of fair distribution of taxes for all segments of the population), improving the system of secondary and higher education (providing government loans for college education, developing programs for professional retraining of workers), radical restructuring of the system public health care (universal opportunity to receive minimal medical care), reform of the federal government (reduction of 100 thousand jobs, allowing to reduce the cost of maintaining the federal government). The main challenge for the Clinton administration was achieving a balanced budget while simultaneously implementing the social programs promised to voters. Having made concessions to the Republicans in tax policy and program health insurance, the President secured congressional approval of measures to expand medical care children and the disabled and subsidies for college students. Clinton managed already in 1998, three years ahead of schedule, to submit a completely balanced budget to Congress for approval. More than 14 million new jobs were created, unemployment was the lowest in 24 years, and inflation was the lowest in 30 years. Investment in the human factor became a decisive factor in the strong economic development of the United States at the end of the 20th century. America has never been as rich and prosperous as during the Clinton presidency. The budget deficit was reduced to nothing, and the state treasury finally began to be replenished with real money. Clinton's foreign policy vision for promoting democracy

and market economy was formalized in the National Security Engagement and Expansion Strategy. In 1997, the White House presented another important report - the National Security Strategy for the New Century. The report highlighted the following main provisions of the strategy: 1. The USA is a nation with global interests; 2. The task of the country's leadership is to maintain superiority in all spheres - diplomatic, technological, industrial and military to protect US interests; 3. To accomplish this task, the United States can act either jointly with other countries or alone when necessary; 4. The United States is the only country capable of exercising global leadership in solving international problems. The most important actions of the United States were the expansion of NATO; consolidation of the forceful model of conflict resolution under American leadership; a departure from existing security agreements. The United States has taken on a mission to further expand democracy in the world, ignoring the UN and existing international norms (non-interference in the internal affairs of states), using new types of weapons, including those dangerous to the population and prohibited by international norms. In relations with Russia, the United States declared states partners in solving international problems and signed a number of documents. But the significance of these treaties for international security was not so high, and the role of Russia seemed less important. Clinton announced NATO's expansion to the east. He confirmed that Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia could be the first candidates for admission to NATO, and that the organization is opening up the possibility of military cooperation with NATO for former members of the Warsaw Warsaw and other European countries outside the North Atlantic Alliance. In 1999, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic joined the alliance. In general, under Clinton, America’s relations with the outside world, in particular with Europe, became noticeably more complicated. Claims to US hegemony began to cause open condemnation. The Clinton administration also made attempts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, which led to the conclusion of the 1993 agreement on the creation of the Palestinian Authority. NATO's war against Yugoslavia in 1999. ended with the separation of Kosovo and Metohija from Yugoslavia.

Introduction

The origins of modern US foreign policy lie in the peculiarities of the formation of society and the state, geographical location, historical process and other patterns that determined the formation of the basic principles that successive administrations have followed and continue to follow. Naturally, the situation both in the United States itself and in the surrounding world determines a different combination of the main components of the foreign policy course, which include the priority of national interests, the idea of ​​being chosen, the unconditional preservation of “free hands,” the use of force, etc.

The coming to power of a new head of state, as is known, is accompanied by fundamental changes in both domestic and foreign policy.

The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that currently the United States has a huge influence on both the global economy and politics.

The purpose of this work was to study the economic and political courses of the last three American presidents.

In accordance with the goal, the objectives of the study were determined, which are:

1. studying the economic and political course of B. Clinton;

2. studying the economic and political course of George W. Bush;

3. studying the economic and political course of Barack Obama;

4. summing up the research and formulating conclusions.

In the process of work, materials from the press and book publications were used concerning various aspects of the economic and foreign policy activities of the American administration.

Bill Clinton's economic and political course

politics bush clinton obama

Domestic policy

William Jefferson "Bill" Climton is the 42nd president in US history. He served in office for two terms from 1993 - 2001. Upon joining White House Under the slogan of “putting house in order” and “restoring the American dream,” Clinton caused an unprecedented surge of hopes and expectations in American society for long-overdue changes.

The main parameters of the Clinton administration's policies were presented in a program called "People First. How Together We Can Change America." This policy document included a carefully developed set of main priorities of the domestic and foreign policy of the American state with a clearly expressed position of the democratic candidate on key issues of the life of the state, based on his own assessments and proposed measures to improve the state of the state.

In general, the Democrats' strategy consisted of the following main points: 1) internal economic restructuring of the American state, consisting mainly of economic conversion, i.e. in shifting emphasis from the defense industry to the sphere of peaceful production; 2) restructuring the tax structure in order to create a system of fair distribution of taxes across all segments of the population; 3) improvement of the system of secondary and higher education, 4) radical restructuring of the public health care system, consisting mainly of the gradual creation of a universal opportunity to receive minimal medical care; 5) reform of the federal government, consisting of the reduction of 100 thousand jobs, which will reduce the cost of maintaining the federal government, limit the influence of power groups on government decisions and revise the practice of financing election campaigns.

Successes in domestic policy - stable economic growth with relatively high levels of employment - played a decisive role in President Clinton's re-election to a second term.

The program of economic reforms and government actions laid down in the 5-year plan and adopted in 1993 produced results throughout Clinton's tenure in office. Clinton managed already in 1998, three years ahead of schedule, to submit a completely balanced budget to Congress for approval. More than 14 million new jobs were created, unemployment was the lowest in 24 years, and inflation was the lowest in 30 years. The American budget for 1999 became the first balanced budget in the last 30 years.

America has never been as rich and prosperous as during the Clinton presidency. The unemployment rate has decreased and the number of jobs has increased. There was practically no inflation. The budget deficit was reduced to nothing, and the state treasury finally began to be replenished with real money. In the 1990s, the Pentagon budget was significantly limited (from 6 to 3% of GDP), social security spending was reformed, and economic growth was ensured, which led to government revenues exceeding expenses by almost 3% of GDP.

Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, who served from 1993 to 2001. He was the first Democratic president to win re-election since Franklin Roosevelt. Clinton is the most admired president in 25 years. Why was he so popular even though he was impeached? First of all, because it economic policy created a decade of prosperity.

Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. He was the first Democratic president to win re-election since Franklin Roosevelt.

Clinton is the most admired president in 25 years. Why was he so popular even though he was impeached? Primarily because his economic policies created a decade of prosperity. During his chairmanship:

• More than 22 million new jobs were created, more than any other president.

• Unemployment fell from 7.5 to 4.0 percent.
• Home ownership was the most high rate throughout history (67.7%).
• The budget deficit fell from $290 billion. USA before budget balance in the amount of 128 billion dollars. USA.
• The poverty rate dropped to 11.8 percent.

What exactly did Clinton do? He adopted contractionary fiscal policy. First, he raised taxes with the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, his first budget. The Deficit Reduction Act raised the top income tax rate from 28 percent to 36 percent for those earning more than $115,000 and 39.6 percent for income above $250. It increased the corporate income tax from 34 percent to 36 percent for a corporation with more than $10 million in income. It also ended some corporate subsidies being taxed on Social Security benefits for high-income earners and created an earned income tax credit up to $30,000. He raised the gas tax by $. 043 per gallon and limited the ability of corporations to claim tax deductions.

Second, he cut spending by reforming the TANF program, commonly known as welfare. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 requires recipients to obtain employment within the first two years. This limited the total time they could receive benefits to five years. The number of TANF recipients has dropped by two-thirds.

Gone from 12.2 million in 1994 to 4.5 million in 2004.

Third, he signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. It eliminated tariffs between the United States, Canada and Mexico. This is the largest trade agreement in the world.

He created 21.5 million jobs during his eight years in office. That's more jobs than any other president. Here are 5 ways Hillary Clinton created jobs.

Clinton regrets that he did not restructure Social Security and Medicare. He also failed to achieve health care reform. On June 20, 2004, in a 60 Minutes interview, he admitted, "I'm very sorry that we didn't reform health care and that we didn't reform Social Security." (Source: Bill Clinton Pros and Cons ProCon. Org.)

Although Hillarycare failed to pass, Clinton used her momentum to create two other health care laws. He worked with Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, who sponsored the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. It allows workers to keep a company-sponsored health plan for 18 months after they leave the job. (Source: "Health Task Force," Clinton Presidential Library.)

Hillary worked with Senators Kennedy and Orrin Hatch to sponsor the Children's Health Insurance Program. It subsidizes health insurance for children in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. It reaches eight million children. (Source: "Hillary's CHIP Loan," Factcheck.Org, March 18, 2008)

For more information, see Hillary's 14 Major Achievements.

From deficiency to excess

Clinton generated a total surplus of $63 billion over two terms. Here's the annual breakthrough:

• FY 2001 - $128 billion surplus.
• FY 2000 - $236 billion surplus.
• FY 1999 - $126 billion surplus.
• FY 1998 - $69 billion surplus.
• FY 1997 - $22 billion
• FY 1996 - $107 billion.
• FY 1995 - $164 billion
• FY 1994 - $203 billion.

Compared to other presidents, see Presidential Deficit. To find out how much Clinton added to the debt and why it differs from the amount of his deficits, see "The President's Debt."

Early years

Clinton graduated from Georgetown University and received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in 1968. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973 and entered politics in Arkansas.

He was defeated in his campaign for Congress in Arkansas's 3rd Congressional District in 1974. The following year he married Hillary Rodham, a graduate of Wellesley College and Yale Law School. In 1980, Chelsea, his only child, was born.

Clinton was elected Arkansas Attorney General in 1976. He won the governorship in 1978. After losing his bid for a second term, Clinton returned to office four years later. He served until he defeated incumbent President George W. Bush and third-party candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential race.

Clinton and his companion, Tennessee Senator Albert Gore Jr., then 44, represented a new generation in American political leadership. For the first time in the last 12 years, the same party was held in the White House and Congress. But this political advantage was short-lived. Republicans won both houses of Congress in 1994. (

1. Bill Clinton (born 1946) went down in history as one of the most popular and dynamic American presidents of the 20th century. The first president born in the post-war era, the third youngest (after T. Roosevelt and J. Kennedy) won the election at the age of 46.

Clinton's victory in the 1992 elections was, on the one hand, the result of his personal efforts and the work of the forces that supported him, and on the other, the result of a favorable combination of circumstances. Having started the race as an outsider (none of the influential Democrats dared to compete with Bush after the Gulf War), Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton gradually gained the authority of the Americans. At the same time, Bush did not take Clinton particularly seriously (speaking of his opponent in the election, Bush said: “My dog ​​knows more about politics than Bill Clinton”) and paid almost no attention to the election. In addition, what worked for Clinton was the fact that in 1992 the strongest “third candidate” in the last 40 years was nominated - billionaire Ross Perot, who gained 19 million votes and basically pulled them away from Bush, which gave Clinton an advantage in most states .

B. Clinton's victory was also contributed to by his wife - Hillary Clinton - a talented politician and an irreplaceable ally, as well as a very high level candidate's education and intelligence (Clinton, a graduate of three best universities - Yale, Georgetown and Oxford, later was recognized as the most educated and intellectual of all US presidents, pushing T. Jefferson into second place).

2. Chief Clinton's campaign slogan: "Focus on America's internal problems."

In many ways he succeeded. During the Clinton administration:

Over 10 million new jobs were created - the problem of unemployment in the United States has practically disappeared (for qualified and hardworking personnel);

The Welfare system is widespread - cash assistance for the homeless SCH the sick and others in need;

1*/ a new health insurance system was installed, which facilitated access to healthcare for more than 35 million people SCH--, century, who previously did not have such an opportunity;

; The World Computer has become widespread; thorny network Internet.

3. Despite the isolationist rhetoric during the election, the United States under Clinton was actively involved in foreign policy. The Clinton administration's biggest foreign policy moves were:

Establishing close relations with Russia;

Resolution of the Bosnian Civil War (Dayton Accords 1995);

The 1999 war against Yugoslavia, led by S. Milosevic, was successful for the United States;

Attempts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict (the conclusion of the 1993 agreement on the creation of the Palestinian Authority).

4. Clinton's reign was overshadowed by a high-profile political scandal involving an affair with a 22-year-old White House intern. Monica Lewinsky(zippergate from the word "zippe/ 1" - fly). The scandal arose not so much because of the novel itself, but because Bill Clinton lied under oath (committed the Oath Crime) about his relationship with Lewinsky while testifying in another case. This was the formal reason for starting the impeachment procedure. Impeachment initially had no prospects, but the purpose of this process was to discredit Clinton and the Democrats (which ultimately happened) - Clinton was not removed from office (impeachment proceedings were completed on February 12, 1999), but by reputation of democrats was inflicted hit.

5. Despite the scandal associated with Lewinsky, B. Clinton himself and his activities left a good memory. Clinton's time has gone down in history as a "golden era" of relative security, prosperity, and economic prosperity.

Modern US politics (after 2001)

1. In the 2000 elections, a Republican won a scandalous victory George Walker Bush (born 1946) - Governor of Texas and the eldest son of the 41st US President George W. Bush (see Question 44). The first few months of his reign, J.W. Bush could not determine his priorities. For example, in one of his first decrees, the president began to regulate the size of holes in different types of cheese, which somewhat surprised the American public.

A turning point in the activities of the administration of J.W. Bush were the events of September 1, 2001 - an attack by terrorists who hijacked passenger planes on the World Trade Center buildings in New York and the Pentagon, as a result of which the Twin Towers caught fire and collapsed. Thousands of people died.

After these terrorist attacks, the Bush administration's main priority was fight against terrorism, which was carried out in two main directions:

Foreign policy:

Proclamation of the “Axis of Evil”, which was based on anti-American regimes in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria and Libya;

Military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, whose governments were accused of supporting global terrorism;

Political pressure on Iran* North Korea, Syria;

Internal political - creation in 2003 Ministry of Homeland Security, the main goal of which is the fight against terrorism, including by secret methods.

Previously, in 1997, it was formulated a new national security strategy for the 21st century. (But it was under G.W. Bush that it became a direct guide to action for governments;! USA). Its key provisions:

The USA must be a strong state even after the end of the Cold War;

The US will maintain its leadership in the world; In the event of a threat to the country's security, the American government will intervene in any political crisis anywhere in the world, even without the consent of the UN and NATO.

The largest foreign policy actions of the administration of J.W. Bush began military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The war in Afghanistan began almost immediately after the events of September 11, 2001 - October 7, 2001. The reasons for the war were:

support of global terrorism by the radical Islamic regime "Taliban";

the presence of terrorist training centers in Afghanistan; the alleged presence of “terrorist No. 1” Osama bin Laden on the territory of Afghanistan.

The war was short-lived and fought using unusual methods:

The bet was placed on the armed opposition of the Taliban in Afghanistan itself - the Northern Alliance;

The US Army waged only an “air war” - intensified bombing of Taliban positions;

Ground battles, supported by Americans from the air, were carried out by armed formations of the Northern Alliance.

As a result of these tactics, the Taliban forces were defeated in 1.5 months; On November 12, 2001, the Northern Alliance army took Kabul. The results of the short war of 2001 were:

Overthrow of the Taliban regime, which ruled Afghanistan for 5 years (1996-2001);

Ending the 23-year civil war in Afghanistan (1978-2001);

The coming to power of a pro-American government led by X. Karzai.

The main enemy of the United States, W. bin Laden, was not captured or destroyed during this war.

2. Military operation against Iraq - "Shock and Awe" - was carried out from March 20 to May 2, 2003. Reasons for war With hoist:

The assumption that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (they were not found either before or after the war);

U the assumption that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein supports global terrorism (has also not been proven).

The real reason for the war was the desire of the US leadership to overthrow the anti-American regime of S. Hussein and strengthen the US position in Iraq, a country with 10% of the world's oil reserves.

The war was carried out unilaterally by the United States and Great Britain without UN sanctions. The demands of the US allies - Germany, France and Italy - to resolve the conflict peacefully were ignored, which caused a split in the ranks of the US NATO allies.

Unlike surgery "Desert Storm" 1991, in 2003, the US and British armies immediately began a ground operation, moving deeper into Iraq from Kuwait. The Iraqi army put up stubborn resistance only in the first days of the war. As American troops approached Baghdad, resistance began to fade. On April 9, 2003, the US Army took Baghdad almost without a fight. The Iraqi army, led by the supreme commander, fled the battlefield. Many of Iraq's top generals were bribed. The Saddam Hussein regime, which ruled Iraq for 24 years, was overthrown. The Ba'ath Party, which had been in power for 35 years (1968-2003), was outlawed. 7 months later, on December 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured near his hometown of Tikrit in northern Iraq and arrested.

Despite the military victory, the war in Iraq was a major political defeat for J.W. Bush. The US administration did not think through the system of governing Iraq after the war. After the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, which had held the diverse Iraqi society in obedience for 24 years, the resulting political vacuum was filled by numerous Islamic and extremist forces. In Iraq, a guerrilla war against the Americans and a civil war between groups actually began.

Despite the formal transfer of power to the Iraqis at the end of June 2004, the civil war in Iraq and armed resistance to the Americans in Iraq continue, which greatly reduces the authority of the J.W. administration. Bush.

The issue of Iraq became one of the main issues during the 2004 presidential campaign. It split American society approximately in half. Some Americans believe that the overthrow of anti-American regimes ultimately strengthens US security and US influence in the world (mainly the Republican electorate). Another part of society, on the contrary, believes that military operations abroad reduce the authority of the United States in the world, lead to unnecessary casualties and do not give anything to ordinary Americans (mostly Democratic voters).

Despite harsh criticism for the war he started in Iraq, George W. Bush won the 2004 presidential election and was re-elected to a 2nd term (until January 2009).