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For over 50 years, more than 225,000 Peace Corps volunteers have been placed in over 140 countries around the world, with the goals of helping the recipient countries need for trained men and women, to promote a better understanding of Americans for the foreign nationals, and to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. The Peace Corps program, proposed during a 2 a.m. campaign stop on October 14, 1960 by America's Camelot, was part idealism, part belief that the United States could help Global South countries becoming independent. At the height of the Cold War, the US and USSR were racing each other to the moon, missiles in Turkey and in Cuba and walls in Berlin consumed the archrivals; sending American graduates to remote villages seemed ill-informed. Kennedy's Kiddie Korps was derided as ineffectual, the volunteers accused of being CIA spies, and often, their work made no sense to locals. The program would fall victim to the vagaries of global geopolitics: in Peru, Yawar Malku (Blood of the Condor), depicting American activities in the country, led to volunteers being bundled out unceremoniously; in Tanzania, they were excluded over Tanzania’s objection to the Vietnam War. Despite these challenges, the Peace Corps program shaped newly independent countries in significant ways: in Ethiopia they constituted half the secondary school teachers in 1961, in Tanzania they helped survey and build roads, in Ghana and Nigeria they were integral in the education systems, alongside other programs. Even in the Philippines, formerly a U.S. colony, Peace Corps volunteers were welcomed. Aside from these outcomes, the program had a foreign policy component, advancing U.S. interests in the recipient countries. Data shows that countries receiving volunteers demonstrated congruence in foreign policy preferences with the U.S., shown by voting behavior at the United Nations, a forum where countries’ actions and preferences and signaling is evident. Volunteer-recipient countries particularly voted with the U.S. on Key Votes. Thus, Peace Corps volunteers who function as citizen diplomats, helped countries shape their foreign policy towards the U.S., demonstrating the viability of soft power in international relations.
For almost 60 years, the United States government has sent more than 230,000 of its citizens abroad to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) for two-year tours, often in very poor countries. As these Volunteers work in grassroots development, helping to build local capacity, they also serve as citizen diplomats and contribute to U.S. public diplomacy. The unique experience of the Peace Corps provides the Volunteers knowledge and a profound understanding of another country or region of the world. Volunteers continue to serve their country as they bring their experience and knowledge back to the United States. Many of them go on to serve in the State Department and in the United States Agency for International Development. Some have even risen to the top ranks of the Foreign Service. Thomas Nisley argues that the Peace Corps is an important tool of U.S. foreign policy that contributes on multiple levels. As these citizen diplomats do their work, they help to improve the popular image of the United States, contributing to U.S. “soft power.” Soft power is a co-optive power, getting others to want what you want. After a general exploration of how the Peace Corps contributes to U.S. foreign policy, the book takes a direct focus on Latin America. Dr. Nisley provides evidence, along with a theoretical explanation, that PCVs do indeed improve the popular perception of the United States in Latin America. He then examines three different periods in U.S foreign policy toward Latin America and shows how the Peace Corps made its contribution. Not all U.S. policy makers have equally recognized the role of the Peace Corps in U.S. foreign policy. Some have even dismissed it outright. This book argues that the Peace Corps plays an important role in U.S. foreign policy. Although the Peace Corps is much stronger today than it was in the late 1970s and early 1980s, U.S. foreign policy would be well served if the Peace Corps were further strengthen and expanded, not only in Latin America but in the world. We should considered the wider policy benefits of the Peace Corps.
This work presents a history of the Peace Corp and exposes Washington infighting, presidential influence, and the struggles volunteers faced abroad. Not an institutional history, the book is a look at the Peace Corps's first fifty years. On October 14, 1960, at an impromptu speech at the University of Michigan, John F. Kennedy presented an idea to a crowd of restless students for an organization that would rally American youth in service. Though the speech lasted barely three minutes, his germ of an idea morphed dramatically into Kennedy's most enduring legacy, the Peace Corps. From this offhand campaign remark, shaped speedily by President Kennedy's brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, in 1961, the organization ascended with remarkable excitement and publicity, attracting the attention of thousands of hopeful young Americans. The author unpacks the complicated history with sharp analysis and anecdotes, taking readers on a global trek starting with the historic first contingent of Volunteers to Ghana on August 30, 1961. The Peace Corps has served as an American emblem for world peace and friendship, yet few realize that it has sometimes tilted its agenda to meet the demands of the White House. Tracing its history through the past nine presidential administrations, the author discloses, for instance, how Lyndon Johnson became furious when Volunteers opposed his invasion of the Dominican Republic; he reveals how Richard Nixon literally tried to destroy the Peace Corps, and how Ronald Reagan endeavored to make it an instrument of foreign policy in Central America. But somehow the ethos of the Peace Corps endured, largely due to the perseverance of the 200,000 volunteers themselves, whose shared commitment to effect positive global change has been a constant in one of our most complex-and valued-institutions.
The Peace Corps, one of the great symbols of relief and assistance in countries around the world, is an opportunity for men and women of all ages to give a small part of their lives in the effort to help those much less fortunate than them. In 2007, the Peace Corps announced its highest volunteer number in 37 years with more than 8,000 volunteers and the Corps continues to grow as more people jump at the chance to help around the world. Many people want to join and help in the Peace Corps, and more than 160,000 people have, since it was established by President Kennedy in 1961. But, many more wonder what it involves and what they need to know before they can volunteer and sign up for the world famous Peace Corps. This informative book will guide you through the process of not only deciding whether you want to join the Peace Corps, but of showing you everything you will experience and need along the way. You will learn all of the basic lingo and necessary information needed to start the application process. You will be shown the specific qualifications to join and what you can do to boost your chances of submitting a winning application. Advice for older volunteers as well as those who are married or worried about entering another country as a minority or different sexual orientation is included in a special chapter about preparing for the Peace Corps mentality. Once you have applied and are ready for your Peace Corps commitment to start, you will learn what you should bring for two years abroad and what kind of training the Peace Corps will provide to you. A full list of the countries you might travel to and the languages you will need to learn are included, alongside the vital medical and safety information that you will need to remain safe during your travels. Learn how to stay in touch with home through the proper channels and how much travel and free time you will be permitted. Social interaction is a vital part of any volunteer commitment and you will learn how and when you can get to know you fellow volunteers and the rules for interaction with the local nationals. Finally, the process of returning to normal life will be hard, but this book will walk you through everything you need to know, including the procedure for coming home early and a full section on how to adjust to your life once more. You will also find information on incorporating your new outlook on life gained from the humbling experience of your travels into the life that you left back at home. For those interested in joining the Peace Corps who feel overwhelmed by everything it represents, this book will take your hand and walk you through every step of the way.