The Influence of Neoconservative Movement on U.S. Foreign Policy (original) (raw)

Neoconservatives; an analysis of their journey from

T h e N e o c o n R e a d e r . 2 0 0 4 . S t e l z e r . G r o v e P r e s s . N e w Y o r k . C a i n M i c h a e l T i b e r i u s H a y w a r d -H u g h e s D i s s e r t a t i o n N e o C o n s e r v a t i v e s 4 Abstract This dissertation shall, in the first instance, delineate the antecedents of the neoconservative foreign policy outlook, in respect of any analogous 'Wilsonian' vision, from the period following the Cold War. As a corollary what follows ameliorates the ideas and impacts that this small but highly influential group of cold war liberals had, and still have, on American foreign policy to the present day. Specifically where these ideas came from and how they are pursu ed takes centre stage. In précis the purpose of this treatise is to replace heat with light, and in -so-doing separate the truths underlying some of the fears of neoconservatism and neocons from the fantasies. The main tenets of the 'Wilsonian' foreign policy direction are instantiated and measured against the key tenets of neoconservative thought and foreign policy direction, accenting the ways in which neoconservatives advocate a 'dogmatic' 'Wilsonian' vision for foreign affairs. By this measure the neocon servative foreign policy outlook can be understood in the light of 'Wilsonian' ideals and any similarities explicated. In the second instance this essay examines who won the Cold War and draws attention to the ways in which a neoconservative vision for for eign affairs can be understood in the 'post 9/11' climate. The final part of this discussion posits that the domination of states within international relations is giving way to the domination of 'social movements'. The impact of this seismic shift will, i n all likelihood, end with the neoconservatives engulfed in lugubrious hubris. C a i n M i c h a e l T i b e r i u s H a y w a r d -H u g h e s D i s s e r t a t i o n N e o C o n s e r v a t i v e s 5

Neoconservatism and American Foreign Policy

olitikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 16 (1). pp. 21-34.

Neoconservatism has been clearly visible in domestic American politics since the late 1960s, though it has only come to the fore internationally in recent years due to the heavily neoconservative influenced direction of the Bush administration in its formative years after 9/11, principally through its prosecution of its War on Terror and via the rhetoric of the President himself. As a much misunderstood term, subject to media jingoism and heated partisan rhetoric in every corner of the globe, this article establishes exactly what neoconservatism is in relation to foreign policy via a reading of key neoconservative literature and corresponding critiques. Subsequently, using the Bush administration as an example, the article evaluates how neoconservative foreign policy postulates are transferred into reality during the War on Terror. Finally the analysis reaches beyond the Bush administration establishing whether a neoconservative legacy remains active in the present day under the Obama administration.

The Key Aspects of Neoconservative Influence on the U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy During the first G.W. Bush Administration

The Romanian Journal of Society and Politics, 11 (1)

Neoconservative political ideology influenced the U.S. foreign and defense policy in various ways. During the President G. W. Bush’s first administration, studied here, neoconservatives embedded in the Administration had a key influence on the President and his foreign policy decisions. Since President is the key foreign and defense policy decision maker in the U.S.A., the influence of the neoconservatives in this field was very significant. To support the main thesis of the paper, content analysis of neoconservative policy papers was made, and quotes that represent policy goals of neoconservatives were identified and presented. It was concluded that the foreign and defense policy of the Bush administration was influenced by the neoconservative political ideology, but the neoconservatives and hardline realists that actively participated in decision-making processes took a significant deflection from the political philosophy and advices of the ‘original’ neoconservatives. They used some parts of the neoconservative ideology, considered useful for implication of their policy, particularly towards the Middle East and especially towards Iraq. Therefore, practical (geo) political reasoning of the decision-makers from the Administration clouded the proclaimed theoretical base of their policy, as well as neoconservative values they claimed to support. Key words: neoconservatives, political ideology, G. W. Bush, U.S. foreign and defense policy, Iraq.

Evolution of Foreign Policy Ideology of American Neoconservatism

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal, 2020

This article discusses the neoconservative ideology of the United States in the field of foreign policy, the formation, development of ideas and concepts, and the role of modern US political discourse. It also analyzes the role of foreign policy in the evolution of neoconservatism, the foreign policy views of neoconservatism theorists and their conflicting character. Attention is paid to the peculiarities of the periodization of the evolution of the doctrine of foreign political neoconservatism.

Mistaking Hegemony for Empire: Neoconservatives, the Bush Doctrine, and the Democratic Empire

International Journal, 2005

However tempting it might be to regard American foreign policy as representing either the rational decisions of a single individual or the coherent output of a policy elite, the reality is different, and much more complex. For we must not only consider individuals as occupiers of bureaucratic offices; we need also to understand how their policy advocacies get shaped by their particular values and ideas. In this regard, it is simply impossible to ignore the influence exercised by "neoconservativism" upon the administration of President George W. Bush. And while the reassertion of American power in the aftermath of the attacks of n September 2001 certainly took some observers by surprise, there was a deeply embedded ideological foundation that served to support if not animate that reassertiona foundation that has been a noticeable aspect of American political culture since at least the 1980s.

The 1990s and the Remaking of the Neoconservative Foreign Policy Paradigm

HJEAS, 2022

This essay explains how neoconservative foreign policy doctrine evolved from strenuously seeking to defeat the communist enemy during the Cold War to thoroughly seeking to preserve America's newfound "unipolar moment" by constructing new enemies to defeat. It analyzes the generational transition within the neoconservative movement from the 1970s to the 1990s and its empire-building project in the post-Cold War era. Based on neoconservative publications and contributions to magazines such as Commentary, The National Interest, and Weekly Standard as well as the publications, reports, and statements of neoconservative think tanks (The Coalition for a Democratic Majority, The Committee on the Present Danger, American Enterprise Institute, The Project for New American Century, among others), the essay argues that the themes associated with the neoconservatives after 9/11-such as militarism, preemptive