AEI Archives: Foreign and Defense Policy

Center for Hemispheric Priorities

AEI established the Center for Hemispheric Studies in 1979, and it built a reputation as one of the principal focal points for independent analysis of Latin American issues in the nation’s capital. In 1982, it published Human Rights and U.S. Human Rights Policy: Theoretical Approaches and Some Perspectives on Latin America, edited by Howard J. Wiarda. A 1984 issue of AEI Foreign Policy and Defense Review was dedicated to “The Crisis in Central America.” A major conference titled Trade, Investment, and Public Policy in Latin America was cosponsored with the Forum of the Americas. As Latin America loomed large in US foreign policy, AEI devoted extensive scholarly resources to this area. 

AEI’s interest in the Middle East is long-standing. In 1972, AEI published resident scholar Robert Pranger’s study American Policy For Peace In The Middle East, 1969-71: Problems of Principle, Maneuver and Time. Also that year, the institute published Soviet Advances in the Middle East by George Lenszowski. Lenszowski was the project director of AEI’s US Interests in the Middle East series, of which his book was the seventh title. In late 1973, AEI also published research associate Dale Tahtinen’s review of the Arab-Israeli military balance.  The study was at the printer when hostilities began.

AEI continues to hold a preeminent position among public policy research organizations in this area. Its formal and informal meetings over the years have brought together many of the key players from the region and the US foreign policy community for candid discussions on the causes of discord in the Middle East. The speakers at these sessions have included Israeli prime ministers, a Lebanese foreign minister and two former Lebanese prime ministers, and an Egyptian minister of state for foreign affairs. With projects ranging from the Arab Democracy Project to the West Bank Data Project, the Middle Eastern studies division pioneered scholarly work in the region. AEI has been a forum for vital national security discussions, hosting American officials, foreign diplomats, and military experts.

In 1973, under Donald C. Hellmann’s guidance, the AEI Special Project on Japanese-American Relations was inaugurated, aiming to foster a deeper understanding of the relationship between Japan and the United States. In 1983, William J. Baroody Jr. et al. met with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in Japan to discuss comparative studies. AEI scholars embarked on research tours to Austrialia, Japan, and Singapore that year to engage in comparative studies and gather insights from those countries. Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was named an AEI Distinguished International Fellow. AEI also expanded its focus to include China with the AEI China Project in 1985. 

Under economist John H. Makin, AEI initiated a series of yearly meetings with the Japan Economic Foundation, rotating between the United States and Japan, to facilitate discussions among economists and other experts. In 1993, former Amb. James R. Lilley assumed the role of resident fellow and director of AEI’s China Studies Program, which was then titled the Asia Studies Program.

AEI’s European policy roots trace back to the Institute’s early years, when AEI’s economic focus led to debates about foreign aid in the postwar era. Early events focused on the risks of Communism, the Cold War, and economic relations with Western Europe. AEI’s European studies programs truly blossomed following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which forced AEI to think strategically about the future US role in Europe, the threat of nuclear proliferation, and the utility of Western aid to the former Soviet republics. With scholars such as Jeane Kirkpatrick and Leon Aron publishing widely on issues of European security, culture, and politics, AEI became a leader in post-Soviet studies.