George W. Bush's Foreign Policies: Principles and Pragmatism

The book offers a fresh assessment of George W. Bush's foreign policies, focusing on the interplay between principle and pragmatism. It argues that policy formulation and implementation across Bush's two terms can be more usefully analysed in terms of shades of grey rather than black and white hues. The president and his advisers were sometimes prepared to alter and amend their policy direction, and where these came together most visibly, personnel changes were made. The changing fortunes of Bush's first term principals presaged policy changes in his second.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 18 December 2020
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

George W. Bush's foreign policies are examined in a new light in this book. It does not aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of his foreign policy, but rather focuses on the key aspects of his foreign and security policy record, examining the interplay between principle and pragmatism. The author contends that policy formulation and implementation during Bush's two terms can be more accurately analyzed in terms of shades of grey rather than black and white. The book highlights that the overall record of Bush's foreign policy was more pragmatic and successful than often portrayed by his critics. The president and his advisers were willing to alter and amend their policy direction, sometimes significantly, based on context and personalities, interagency dynamics, and exigencies on the ground. The changing fortunes of Bush's first term principals also influenced policy changes in his second term. The book offers a more complex picture of the Bush administration during a period marked by the emergence of international Islamist terrorism as the dominant international security threat. It will be of great interest to students of US foreign policy, international politics, and security studies.

Weight: 445g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367204204