Description
Although the United States has many of the attributes of empire, says Nuechterlein (who has served in the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Information Agency, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and as a lecturer at a number of universities), it is better understood as a hegemon. In this work he analyzes the U.S. exercise of hegemonic power in recent years, describing the differences between the George W. Bush administration's approach to hegemony in the wake of the September 11th, 2001 attacks and those of earlier administrations. He then spends four chapters exploring the relationship between the Bush administration's foreign policy and the U.S. national interests of "defense of the U.S. homeland, economic well-being of the American people, establishment of a favorable world order, and promotion of freedom and American values abroad." He further analyzes the rising costs of implementing Bush's foreign policy and alternative strategies for future policy. Distributed in the U.S. by Books International. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Donald E. Nuechterlein examines George W. Bush’s transformation of American foreign policy and the repercussions for the future. Defiant Superpower recounts how the Bush administration’s bold actions in response to September 11, 2001, toppled the Taliban and displayed American strength. But by 2002, much of the world, including our allies, had become alarmed by American assertiveness, particularly Bush’s proclamation that America would pursue preventative wars to eliminate future threats. The divergence of national interests between the United States and old allies became acute in early 2003 when Germany and France openly rejected U.S. plans to invade Iraq and bring about regime change. While the Bush administration’s defiant and unilateralist policies initially seemed to empower the United States to pursue its national interests, the pitfalls of this new American hegemony are now apparent. Occupying Iraq and engaging in a global "war on terror" are costly, in both human and economic terms, and the United States would benefit from broad-based international cooperation. Will Bush’s reelection mean that the robust hegemony of his first term is here to stay, or will he moderate his style and objectives to mend fences with old allies? Defiant Superpower offers a balanced critique of recent foreign policy and suggests how policymakers should recognize the limits of the new hegemony in order to determine America’s realistic national interests.
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