The American Christian right and George W. Bush's foreign policy towards Sudan

Abstract

The paper explores the role and activities of the American Christian Right in pursuing its interest in Sudan during the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009). The campaign for global religious freedom and subsequently the introduction of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) in 1998 has stimulated the Christian Right movement to become more focused on broader US foreign policy especially international humanitarian issues in Sudan. Consequently, the Christian Right was seen to successfully raise the awareness of human rights abuses and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, thus it contributed significantly to the development of US’s global humanitarianism agenda. The issues, such as of the persecution of Sudanese Christians and animists in former Southern Sudan and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, became important aspects of the Christian Right’s engagement on global humanitarian issues. The paper reveals the aspects of the Christian Right international humanitarian engagement in Sudan and it capability to exert its influence in US foreign policy towards Sudan.