U.S. Grand Strategy Following the George W. Bush Presidency

Abstract

Debates over U.S. grand strategy have devoted a disproportionate level of attention to the War on Terror itself rather than the evolving strategic environment. Challenges including an impending shift in the balance of power, structural deficits, and divided public opinion will significantly impact the policy options available to government leaders, but they have not been adequately addressed. This article analyzes the options available for U.S. grand strategy following the George W. Bush presidency by relating key U.S. national interests with domestic and international policy constraints on the horizon. The analysis concludes that the United States must adopt a defensive grand strategy to rebuild popular consensus, to prevent further strain on the military, and to consolidate its gains in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this strategy will require flexible coalitions, not formal international organizations, because of a significant divergence of security interests and capabilities with its European allies.

Conceptualizing al-Qaeda and US Grand Strategy

“…For its proponents, the cautious and defensive use of limited government resources becomes even more important in the context of increasing strains put on the US federal budget by retiring baby boomers. 25 With their attachment to Realist thinking, adherents of this line of strategic thinking long viewed terrorism only in terms of its links to state sponsors. One classic example is Condoleezza Rice's Foreign Affairs article in which President George W. Bush's eventual National Security Adviser and US secretary of state had laid out the Republican foreign policy manifesto for the 2000 Presidential elections.…”

The Empire of Japan’s Foreign Policy

“…The previously mentioned American need for a strong Japan complemented Japan's need for a strong relationship with the United States in order to have market access as well as in order to balance mainland China and the Soviet Union (Ellis, 2009). North Korea's kidnapping of Japanese citizens and virulently anti-Japanese rhetoric further strengthened the need for a strong relationship with the United States (Ryang, 2010).…”