Mission & History

The National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) was founded in 1974 by Professor Hans J. Morgenthau and others. It is a nonprofit policy organization dedicated to the resolution of conflicts that threaten U.S. interests. Toward that end, the NCAFP identifies, articulates, and helps advance American foreign policy interests from a nonpartisan perspective within the framework of political realism.

Historical Impact and Awards

The National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) was founded in 1974 by Hans J. Morgenthau and others dedicated to the resolution of conflicts that threaten U.S. interests. For the past 50 years, this nonprofit has held fast to its core mission: to identify, articulate, and advance American foreign policy interests from a nonpartisan perspective within the framework of political realism.

The National Committee has grown quickly in size and influence. It continues to hold public seminars regularly, publish reports containing summaries and policy recommendations derived from Track II and I.5 discussions, conferences and briefings featuring American and foreign policymakers.  In 1981 the first Hans J. Morgenthau Award was presented to NCAFP president the Honorable Angier Biddle Duke. Subsequent recipients have included the Honorable Henry Kissinger, the Honorable George Shultz, the Honorable James Baker III, the Right Honorable Margaret Thatcher, Secretary of State Colin Powell, David Rockefeller, the Honorable Thomas R Pickering, His Majesty King Hussein, the Honorable Richard Haas, The Honorable Martti Ahtisaari, the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, the Honorable Dr. Robert M. Gates, Secretary Hillary R. Clinton,  the Honorable Dr.Vaira Vike-Freiberga and the Honorable Robert Rubin.

A second award, the George F. Kennan Award for Distinguished Public Service, was established in 1994. Recipients include Ambassador George F. Kennan, the Honorable Cyrus R. Vance, the Honorable Paul A. Volcker, the Honorable Richard C. Holbrooke, the Honorable John D. Negroponte, and General David H. Petraeus, former New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, the Honorable Karl W. Eikenberry, the former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, Ambassador William J. Burns, Admiral (ret) Michelle Howard, Ambassador John Huntsman, Jr., Ambassador (ret) Marie Yovanovich, and Ambassador (ret) Sung Kim.

In 1993 William J. Flynn, chairman and chief executive officer of Mutual of America, became the chairman of the National Committee. When the British and Irish governments issued the Downing Street declaration at the end of that year, the National Committee under Mr. Flynn’s leadership placed a full-page ad in The New York Times challenging every party involved in the conflict to attend an NCAFP-sponsored conference in NYC to air the arguments of all sides. The National Committee was instrumental in convincing President Bill Clinton to issue a visa to Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein. Adams’s first appearance in the United States enabled him to begin to develop ties with key leaders in New York and Washington that gave him and his party the assurance necessary to enter into peace negotiations, sign the Belfast Agreement, and contend for and win political office in the North. In recognition of William Flynn’s achievements, the National Committee established the William J. Flynn Initiative for Peace Award in 1997. Among the recipients are the Honorable George J. Mitchell, the Right Honorable Dr. Marjorie Mowlam, Viola Drath, the Honorable Hugh Carey, and Gerry Adams, M.P., Shaun Kelly, the Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, Kieran McLaughlin and Dr. John Feerick.

Shortly after establishing its Northern Ireland project, the NCAFP launched its Track I.5 and Track II projects on U.S.-China relations and the question of Taiwan. The project gradually grew into the Forum on Asia-Pacific Security. Shortly thereafter, the NCAFP, under this thematic umbrella, sponsored security talks with North Korea on the nuclear issue and, more recently, security issues affecting U.S.-Japan and U.S.-South Korea relations. The entire Forum on Asia-Pacific Security is largely conducted at Track I.5 and Track II levels.

Since its founding, the National Committee has focused its attention on significant geopolitical regions such as the Middle East and strategic partnerships such as Transatlantic Relations. As an outgrowth of those studies in the past, the NCAFP established projects on the Caspian Sea Basin and U.S.-UN relations, as well as on Africa. While the Committee’s scope has broadened, it remains anchored to its values: the preservation and strengthening of national security; supporting political, religious, and cultural pluralism; improving U.S. relations with its allies; advancing human rights; curbing nuclear proliferation and encouraging realistic arms-control agreements; and promoting an open global economy.

In looking to the future, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy anticipates continued growth and success as it applies the guiding principles of political realism and the sound pragmatism of Track I.5 and Track II diplomacy.  The National Committee has also begun new programs focused on developing the next generation of policy makers. The National Committee also renews its resolve to maintain and promote the philosophy of its founder in the face of an increasingly complex and divisive world, for as Hans Morgenthau wrote in his definitive work, Politics Among Nations, “Diplomacy is the best means of preserving peace which a society of sovereign nations has to offer.”