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...

In an article for Foreign Affairs at the outbreak of the World War II, film producer Walter Wanger referred to Hollywood movies as '120,000 American ambassadors'. The preeminence of Hollywood in presenting US ideology to the world has been asserted ever since. Yet the relationship between Hollywood and America's actual ambassadors, employed by the global network of American embassies, has rarel...