This graduate thesis analyzes the security policy of the United States during the previous administration of President George W. Bush and the current administration of President Obama. The first section is devoted to a detailed analysis of the security strategies of both administrations as well as to their practical applications, not only in the field of defense and military, but also in foreign trade and building of alliances and partnerships. Based on this analysis the first part concludes that, although the Obama's security policy is criticized for being just a "Bush lite", it differs clearly in almost all mentioned areas. The thesis identifies, as the most essential, the difference in the overall concept of the security policy, which is multilateral and less militarily engaged at the time of the Obama administration than during the Bush administration which is characterized by unilateral approach with pre-emptive use of force. The second part of this thesis thus builds on these major differences. Based on previous analysis of both policies then generates hypotheses which aim at finding a cause of this change. To test the hypotheses this study makes use of three classical theories of international relations, which include elements that have been previously identified as a possible driving force...

<p>Essay in Political Science, Advanced Course, by Christoffer Hagström</p><p>“The Bush Administration´s view on international cooperation and international</p><p>law and political-theoretical traditions influence on the administration´s foreign</p><p>policy”</p><p>Supervisor: Jan Olsson</p><p>The purpose of this paper is to analyze the American foreign policy, particularly with regard to</p><p>international cooperation and international law. The two following research-questions are used in</p><p>order to fulfil the purpose: (1) what is the Bush-administrations´s view of of the place for</p><p>international cooperation and international law in American foreign policy?, and (2) how does the</p><p>administration´s foreign policy correspond to dominant political-theoretical thought-traditions? The</p><p>traditions used are: liberalism, realism and neoconservatism. The sources of the study mostly</p><p>include literature and policy-documents. The author conducts qualitative and quantitative content</p><p>analysis of the Bush-administration´s policy document National Security Strategy of the United</p><p>States from March 2006. First the document is summarized based on different criteria followed by</p><p>categorizations of ideas connected with realism, liberalism and neoconservatism in the document. In</p><p>the quantative analysis value-words that are appropriate for the various traditions is chosen. The</p><p>frequency of those words can be seen as indications of the influence of the traditions in the thoughts</p><p>of the Bush-administration, but is mostly seen as a complement to the qualtative analysis. The main</p><p>conclusions of the paper are that the Bush-administration most often wish to act according to</p><p>international law and to cooperate with other actors internationally in the long run, it may even be</p><p>necessary. In the short run however, it may act outside the parameters of international organizations</p><p>and international law in order to accomplish foreign policy-goals. Matters related to the security of</p><p>the American state and people is considered much more important than international cooperation</p><p>and law. Liberalism seems to be the tradition that has most affected the Bush-administration´s</p><p>foreign policy. It is followed shortly thereafter by realism and neoconservatism seems to have had</p><p>the least influence on the the thought-traditions. All of the them has been active in the making of the</p><p>foreign policy.</p>

Iranian nuclear program has presented a problem for many years. Even though the regime in Tehran has not formally announced its quest to develop nuclear weapons and has actually denied such accusations, the international community concluded from the actions of the regime that the development of nuclear weapons is the ultimate goal of Tehran. The United States reacted to the course of events and tried to limit the program or stop it altogether. The Bush Administration was not an exception in this regard. Even though the attitude towards Iran changed during 2001 - 2009, the nuclear program progressed further and still presents a great danger. Not only politicians but also academics, experts and analytics were trying to answer the question how to curb the program most effectively. This thesis analyzes and compares concepts of scholars with the actual policy practiced by the Bush Administration and finds out that both approaches vary quite significantly. While the majority of scholars recommended the administration to limit the economic sanctions and refrain from aggressive rhetoric concerning the possibility of military action, the American government tightened the sanctions and sustained the option of intervention. Since Iran still continues with its nuclear program, it can be asserted that the...

Essay in Political Science, Advanced Course, by Christoffer Hagström “The Bush Administration´s view on international cooperation and international law and political-theoretical traditions influence on the administration´s foreign policy” Supervisor: Jan Olsson The purpose of this paper is to analyze the American foreign policy, particularly with regard to international cooperation and international law. The two following research-questions are used in order to fulfil the purpose: (1) what is the Bush-administrations´s view of of the place for international cooperation and international law in American foreign policy?, and (2) how does the administration´s foreign policy correspond to dominant political-theoretical thought-traditions? The traditions used are: liberalism, realism and neoconservatism. The sources of the study mostly include literature and policy-documents. The author conducts qualitative and quantitative content analysis of the Bush-administration´s policy document National Security Strategy of the United States from March 2006. First the document is summarized based on different criteria followed by categorizations of ideas connected with realism, liberalism and neoconservatism in the document. In the quantative analysis value-words that are appropriate for the various traditions is chosen. The frequency of those words can be seen as indications of the influence of the traditions in the thoughts of the Bush-administration, but is mostly seen as a complement to the qualtative analysis. The main conclusions of the paper are that the Bush-administration most often wish to act according to international law and to cooperate with other actors internationally in the long run, it may even be necessary. In the short run however, it may act outside the parameters of international organizations and international law in order to accomplish foreign policy-goals. Matters related to the security of the American state and people is considered much more important than international cooperation and law. Liberalism seems to be the tradition that has most affected the Bush-administration´s foreign policy. It is followed shortly thereafter by realism and neoconservatism seems to have had the least influence on the the thought-traditions. All of the them has been active in the making of the foreign policy.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Kleber Maia Marinho.pdf: 1018489 bytes, checksum: b40b9e97f51276133e093a50b2f37632 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-06-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / As a whole, the present dissertation lies at the intersection between religion and politics. Religion was embedded in the political scenario of the US at the onset of the nation and, since then, religion and politics have been intertwined into a complex system of coexistence that has strongly influenced the country s destiny. Although the debate regarding the amalgam between religion and politics in the US has been ongoing among the most diverse sectors of information and research, both locally and internationally, it was after the inauguration of George W. Bush and the attacks on 9/11, that such issue gained global repercussion, at a level never before seen in history. In this regard, the present work intends to analyze the relation of historical-cultural, sociological and psychological facts on the political-religious events, particularly those related to the international political scenario, which is hereby represented by the US. Thus, the subject of this investigation focuses on analyzing the presence of religious concepts as found in the speeches of President George W. Bush, during his two terms in office. More specifically, this dissertation examines the phenomena that are deeply rooted in the culture of the United States and have played a key role in supporting Bush s political actions. In this way, it evaluates the degree to which the events on 9/11 served as a bulwark for the religious rhetoric in Bush s discourse and became a tool to legitimate the war against Iraq, his political modus operandi and, ultimately, lead him to reelection. It is therefore concluded that, the ethical, moral and religious factors, deeply set in the culture of the United States throughout its history, together with the trauma caused by the events on 9/11, contributed to the acceptance of Bush s political decisions. The theoretical basis for the work is the hermeneutic methodology, built on a theoretical and bibliographic tripartite design that is sociological, philosophical-linguistic as well as psychological. The first line of investigation is based on the concept of Civil Religion, first developed by Robert Bellah and later expanded by other theoreticians; the second one follows Chaïm Perelman s theory of the New Rhetoric, and the third rests on C. G. Jung s Archetype. / Em termos gerais, a presente dissertação localiza-se na confluência da religião com a política. A inserção da religião na esfera política dos EUA fez-se presente desde o início de sua fundação e desde então, ambas permaneceram imbricadas constituindo um complexo sistema de convívio, cuja influência foi determinante nos desígnios da nação. Embora o debate acerca do amálgama entre religião e política nos EUA nunca ter cessado entre os mais diferentes setores de informação e pesquisa na sociedade nacional e internacional, foi, todavia, a partir da posse de George W. Bush e, após os atentados de 11 de setembro, que tal assunto ganhou repercussão mundial como talvez jamais antes na história. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho tem como propósito analisar os fatos histórico-culturais, sociológicos e psicológicos na análise de eventos político-religiosos, mais precisamente, relativos à política internacional representada aqui pelos EUA. Por essa via, o objeto de investigação em questão refere-se à análise da presença da concepção religiosa encontrada nos discursos do presidente George W. Bush durante o período de seus dois mandatos de governo. Em termos específicos, esta dissertação debruçou-se sobre o estudo de fenômenos arraigados na cultura estadunidense que foram preponderantes na sustentação da política de Bush. Assim, buscou-se avaliar até que ponto o 11 de setembro serviu de ênfase na retórica religiosa do discurso de Bush, servindo de meio instrumentário para legitimar a guerra no Iraque, seu modus operandi político e, eventualmente, ajudá-lo na reeleição. Concluímos que fatores ético-morais e religiosos profundamente incutidos na cultura estadunidense ao longo do processo histórico, aliados ao trauma do 11 de setembro, foram facilitadores para a adesão à política de Bush. Para tanto, valemo-nos, como procedimento teórico, da metodologia hermenêutica, construída em cima de uma linha teórico-bibliográfica ancorada por três frentes: sociológica, filosófico-lingüística e psicológica. A primeira embasa-se no conceito de Religião Civil inicialmente desenvolvida por Robert Bellah e, depois, ampliada por outros teóricos; a segunda pauta-se na teoria da Nova Retórica de Chaïm Perelman e a última, no conceito de Arquétipo de C. G. Jung.