The Kirkpatrick Mission: Diplomacy Without Apology - America at the United Nations 1981-1985

When Jeane Kirkpatrick made her ambassadorial debut as permanent U.S. representative to the United Nations in 1981, that organization was, in her words, doing its best to ``ignore, deplore, despise and revile'' the United States. Speaking out forcefully on behalf of U.S. interests during successive international crises, she became a controversial figure worldwide. At the same time, she had to struggle to maintain her independent authority outside the State Department chain of command. Gerson, who served as Kirkpatrick's legal counsel during her 1981-1985 tenure, describes how Kirkpatrick represented U.S. interests during Israel's invasion of Lebanon and the U.S. intervention in Grenada, and how she dealt with the effort of the radical Arab states to expel Israel from the United Nations. This study of the interplay between international law and domestic politics, and between personality and policy in shaping foreign relations is an important contribution to the literature of modern diplomacy. (June)