The Bush Revolution

Bush Revolution

Analysts believe that President George W. Bush initiated a revolution in American foreign policy, signifying a radical departure from the foreign policies of past presidential administrations. With few exceptions, American foreign policy under the Bush administration differs significantly from foreign policy even of Bush's father or of Ronald Reagan, two recent presidents sharing similarly conservative values and objectives. For example, Reagan intervened in Nicaragua to topple the Sandinistas but did not, as Bush has, proudly proclaim America's right to instigate regime changes in nations that had not directly attacked the United States. The Bush Revolution in foreign policy has largely rewritten the "the rules of America's engagement in the world," proclaiming the need for a strong and "unbounded" United States. The three core principles of the Bush Revolution include unilateralism, preemption, and regime change. Each of these three principles differs sharply from the foreign policy of past presidents. First, Bush has clearly declared "disdain" for the multilateral institutions co-created by past American presidents including Roosevelt and has in fact largely declared the irrelevance of institutions like the United Nations and NATO. Second, the United States under President Bush has declared a need for preemptive action, whereas in the past American foreign policy has focused on defensive initiatives. Third, although regime changes have been part of the foreign policy of past presidents, Bush's Revolution overtly proposes regime change as a necessary feature of national security.

The terrorist attacks of September 11 paved the way for the implementation of the Bush Revolution, but the ideology behind Bush's policy existed earlier. A belief in America's greatness had characterized the nation since its inception. The Revolutionary War itself signified a major break with Old European values and marked the beginning of American self-consciousness. The Bush Revolution also makes a conscious effort to maintain ideological distance between the New World and the Old, just like a teenager continually tries to cultivate a personal identity separate from and even in opposition to the parents. Because of the Bush Revolution, moreover, the nations of Old Europe who had previously averred friendship with the United States have begun to harshly criticize American hegemony achieved via the implementation of bold unilateralism, preemption, and regime change. America has always been a nation of cowboys: built upon principles like Manifest Destiny. The cowboy currently in office only reasserts the American sense of entitlement that has characterized national consciousness since the founding of the Republic. Bush's Revolution has therefore caused a stir abroad, leading to a diminished opinion of the nation and to the withdrawal of political and military support in American foreign policy. Iraq has been America's war. The Bush Revolution has also stirred up domestic controversy because of the negative economic and diplomatic consequences of brazenly cowboy foreign policy. In short, the Bush Revolution is unabashedly egotistical and reflects arrogance and conceit.

Unilateralism is defined by a lack of cooperation: an unwillingness to participate in, let alone forge, multilateral coalitions. The Bush administration has not welcomed dissenting opinions or multiple points-of-view because ostensibly it is "easier and more efficient" to act unilaterally and bypass the bureaucracies of multinational organizations like the United Nations. Thus, a seemingly blatant disregard for the input and opinions of other nations has characterized the Bush Revolution and has drawn criticism from foreign leaders.

The Bush Revolution reflects the cowboy mentality also through its spirit of independence. In principle, acting unilaterally and independently helps to quickly and efficiently accomplish American goals. Yet one of the consequences of the Bush Revolution is that unilateral action could also isolate the United States in the long run and could in fact work against the nation through the development of the anti-American sentiment that fuels terrorism in the first place. For example, to outright refuse to participate in any multilateral coalition on principle signifies arrogance, not wisdom, in the eyes of potential friends and enemies. Similarly, the currently chaotic situation in Iraq reflects some of the negative consequences of Bush's foreign policy.