The Second Bush Presidency

Preface

What does the world expect of the second Bush Administration? The answer is complicated. The first Bush Administration created a series of tensions with the rest of the world. These were both in terms of bilateral relationships and also in terms of how the Bush Administration’s grand strategy was viewed. Several schisms between the United States and its allies had appeared—most notably the American decision to wage war in Iraq and the rejection of the Kyoto Treaty. The sense of disappointment with the Bush Administration led to discussions about the United States abandoning its role as a global hegemon—a role it had filled since the demise of the Soviet Union—to becoming an empire that pursued unilateral policies in international affairs ...