Degree awarded with distinction on 8 December 1993. Johannesburg 1993. / This dissertation begins with an examination of the salient principles and doctrines that have shaped American foreign policy. Since the end of the Second World War, the doctrines of American foreign policy have all been manifestations of the concept of containment that constituted the bedrock of U.S. policy towards its principal adversary the soviet Union. The Reagan Doctrine exhibited many of the traditional characteristics of its predecessor but, in reflecting shifting global realities, the Reagan Doctrine was also innovative and represented a new policy direction. Through the two selected case studies (Nicaragua and Afghanistan) the application of the Reagan Doctrine is evaluated with a view to determining its objectives, successes and failures.

Cette recherche constitue une analyse de la présidence de Ronald Reagan sous un nouvel angle. Au sein de cet ouvrage, nous analysons l'influence que l'idéologie du messianisme américain a eue sur Ronald Reagan lors de son passage à la Maison-Blanche. L'originalité de notre étude tient au fait que nous analysons le contenu des discours prononcés par le Président suite à certains événements marquants de sa présidence en matière de politique étrangère, dans le but de constater si ce dernier fait usage d'une rhétorique messianique. En procédant de la sorte nous combinons deux facettes de sa personnalité: l'homme religieux avec le messianisme et le communicateur avec sa rhétorique. À l'aide de cette méthodologie, nous souhaitions corroborer notre hypothèse de départ stipulant que Ronald Reagan était réellement influencé par l'idéologie du messianisme et qu'il s'en servait au sein de ses discours pour justifier ses décisions en matière de politique extérieure. Pour ce faire, nous avons sélectionné les allocutions du Président qui étaient liées aux principaux événements qui ont marqué la politique étrangère américaine entre 1980 et 1988. Une fois nos analyses complétées, nous avons été frappé de voir à quel point notre hypothèse se voyait confirmée par nos résultats. Effectivement, Ronald Reagan fait usage d'une rhétorique messianique pour justifier à la nation ses décisions en matière de politiques étrangères. Il va même plus loin en se laissant influencer par des idéologies découlant du messianisme, telles que le missionnarisme, l'exceptionnalisme et le millénarisme. Enfin, nous croyons que notre approche novatrice et nos conclusions auront comme principale conséquence d'élargir le champ d'étude existant sur la présidence de Ronald Reagan tout en ouvrant une possibilité d'analyse sur les similitudes existantes entre la rhétorique messianique de Ronald Reagan et celle de George W. Bush. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : États-Unis, Relation, Politique, Étranger, Extérieur, Histoire, Rhétorique, Religion, Présidence, 1980-1988.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 401-417). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves: [108]-116)

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, August 2008.

Diss.--Universität Stuttgart, 1990. / Contient de nombreuses citations, traduites en allemand. Bibliogr. p. 251-262.

This dissertation explores contemporary American unwritten constitutionalism in three areas of public law: constitutional theory, election law, and administrative law. Drawing on methods familiar to political theory—analytic political philosophy and intellectual history—it offers a way of analyzing constitutional phenomena beyond legal reasoning tethered to text. The first essay uses social philosophy to build a theory of constitutional norms that explains their salient features and functions. The second essay builds a framework for understanding the concept of representation in the law of democracy. It uses political theory to reveal the latent normative questions animating election law doctrine. The third and final essay recovers the lost and contested origins of presidential administration during the Reagan administration. It shows how the combined efforts of executive branch lawyers, judges, and academics decisively brought the administrative state under presidential control and laid the foundations for the emergence of a plebiscitary president. Together these essays provide proof of concept for the dissertation’s central methodological claim: the need to move beyond text and legal reasoning in understanding American constitutionalism.

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In 1980, Ronald Reagan became the fortieth president of the United States following an election that was said to have presaged a political turn to the right in that country. This thesis identifies three broad historical themes that characterised the period in the immediate aftermath of the 1980 election. Firstly, there was the notion that the voting public was becoming more conservative in its choices in federal politics. This is tested by looking at voter behaviour in the 1982 midterm elections. Secondly, the idea that the liberal-conservative dialectic was becoming less important in United States politics is examined using as a framework the actions and statements of prominent liberals. Thirdly, the thesis examines the accuracy of prognoses that were being made about liberalism as a viable political entity in the wake of the 1980 elections. These themes are examined via a series of parallel, occasionally overlapping narratives, following the main strands of liberal activity and thought in one state California in the early 1980s. Many of the sources used were derived from commentary that was being made as events unfolded. The debate about the meaning of the 1980 election therefore changes and this change is part of the story told here. Answering some questions also involved using source material that was more reflective. Hence, parts of the thesis are historiographical. Despite its political content, this thesis is a work of history. It examines the drama of men and women acting within their time, bound by the world around them, but also trying to change that world.

The thesis analyzes how the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush used force in response to incidents of international terrorism. Key players in each administration and whether they advocated a law enforcement approach or a war paradigm approach to counterterrorism are examined. In addition, Koh's pattern of executive initiative, congressional acquiescence, and judicial tolerance forms a theoretical lens through which to compare and contrast administrations. An assessment of the role of Congress in making the administrations' counterterrorism policies confirms the vitality of this pattern, and suggests future administrations will adhere to it. During the George W. Bush administration, Koh's pattern of executive initiative (led by personalities like Vice President Cheney), congressional acquiescence, and judicial tolerance combined with the 9/11 tragedy and pervasive fears of another attack to create a 'perfect storm' known as the 'war on terror'. The research also analyzes to what extent the four administrations were constrained by international legal norms on the use of force, i.e. articles 2(4) and 51 of the UN Charter. On the domestic side, the thesis analyzes the extent to which American legal norms on the use of force constrained the administrations. Although the lack of compelling constraints on the use of force is present in all four administrations, the thesis indicates that the George W. Bush administration embodied an extreme example of this trend.