American Foreign Policy and the Ocean Environment: A Case of Executive Branch Dominance

　

John Barkdull

　

Abstract

　

        In Chapter 6 John Barkdull argues that Executive Branch leadership, and specifically the initiative of White House staff, has contributed to U.S. involvement in efforts to prevent ocean pollution. Barkdull's case study, in which he analyzes the Nixon administration's negotiation of the ocean dumping treaty of 1972, sheds light on this matter. The Nixon administration, led by the Council on Environmental Quality's chairman, Russell Train, transformed a domestic issue—regulating dumping of military and commercial wastes in coastal waters by U.S. agencies and citizens—into a matter for international negotiations. Once engaged in international negotiations, the question became whether the United States could achieve a treaty it would accept, and how closely the treaty would conform to American preferences. The secret negotiating position of the United States, found by Barkdull in the Nixon Materials at the National Archives, reveals that the United States was highly concerned that the U.S. military retain maximum freedom of action. This and other goals were largely attained, even when the United States would have accepted considerably less. Thus it appears that U.S. leadership—and particularly leadership by the Executive Branch—can make a significant difference in the outcome of international environmental treaty negotiations. Furthermore, Barkdull's historical analysis shows that the Nixon administration's environmental record (if not that of Nixon himself) has been mischaracterized, and that the administration was forward-looking and proactive in undertaking international environmental legislation. This is not what casual observers expect from a Republican administration. As such, Barkdull's chapter offers valuable insights for U.S. international environmental policy in the future.