The Rise of the “Neocons” and the Evolution of American Foreign Policy

This paper examines the rise of the ‘neoconservative’ thinkers and policymakers that have exerted such a powerful influence over the foreign policy of the administration of George W. Bush. The paper initially provides a theoretical context for thinking about American power, before detailing the activities and beliefs of some of the most prominent neocon thinkers. The key argument I make is that the doctrinaire beliefs of the neocons have not only resulted in an ill-judged transformation of American foreign policy, but they have undermined the legitimacy of US authority more generally as a consequence. Introduction Powerful countries have always had the capacity and the desire to influence the international system of which they are a part (Watson 1992). What is remarkable about the contemporary era is that one country – the United States – is far more influential in this regard than any other. The US has a unique potential to shape both the rules and regulations that govern the increasingly interconnected international system, and the behaviour of the other states and non-state actors that effectively constitute it. Consequently, in an era of ‘unipolarity’, America’s foreign and domestic policies have assumed an unprecedented prominence in the affairs of other nations and regions as they seek to accommodate, and where possible benefit from, the evolution of American hegemony. That America was ‘hegemonic’ became clear in the aftermath of World War II, when, the formidable presence of the former Soviet Union notwithstanding, the US was revealed to be the most powerful country on the planet. However that power was measured – military, economic, political or even ‘cultural’ – the US outstripped its rivals and dominated international affairs. Nothing has happened in the interim to change this basic position, despite widespread concerns in the 1980s about the supposed decline in America’s hegemonic position (Keohane 1984; Kennedy 1989). Indeed, the end of the Cold War and the US’s apparent economic renaissance during the late 1990s consolidated its pre-eminent position and appeared to lock-in its dominance for the foreseeable future. And yet the events of September 11, and the subsequent ‘war on terror’ provided a dramatic reminder of both the US’s continuing vulnerability, and about the extent of antipathy toward the US generally and its foreign policy in particular (Sardar and Davies 2002). To make sense of the extent and impact of American power, we need to place the development of American hegemony in its specific historical context. Before doing that, however, it is important to clarify just what hegemony is and how it differs from the currently more fashionable notion of ‘empire’, which is increasingly used to describe the US’s present global position. Consequently, the first part of this paper provides a theoretical justification for the use of hegemony to describe American power and influence, before going on to trace briefly the evolution of American power over the last fifty years or so. This analysis reveals not only the evolving nature of American power, but also the different ways it has affected Western Europe and East Asia. This provides the basis in the second part of the paper for a more detailed examination of the contemporary period and the rise of the so-called ‘neocons’, some of whom have