Temptations of Power: The United States in Global Politics after 9/11

Robert J. Jackson, Towle1403946760, 9781403946768, 9780230626386

Temptations of Power examines the new security dilemma that confronted George W. Bush when terrorists proved for the first time on 9/11 that they could seriously wound even the greatest of military powers on its own soil. The authors argue that the response was influenced by neo-conservative exaggeration of the efficacy of military power and belief in the US ability to change the world. Jackson and Towle advocate for new politics–but not the kind Washington has adopted since 2001.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Contents……Page 6
Acknowledgements……Page 9
Introduction: Temptations of Power……Page 10
1 Grappling with the New World: Concepts and Realities……Page 16
September 11 2001 and its aftermath……Page 17
Concepts and realities……Page 19
Concepts in international relations……Page 21
Realities in international relations……Page 24
The security debate……Page 25
Limited sovereignty……Page 27
International intervention……Page 28
The old and new security dilemmas……Page 29
2 Ideologies, Ideas and Political Slogans in the Formation of George W. Bush’s Foreign Policy……Page 31
A clash of civilizations……Page 33
America as empire……Page 37
The neoconservatives……Page 43
From commentators and analysts to George W. Bush……Page 51
From victim to pariah……Page 59
The temptation of Iraq……Page 60
The anti-Iraq coalition, 2003……Page 64
Why Europeans often disagreed with the United States……Page 66
The growth of US military power……Page 68
The end of the balance of power?……Page 70
The United States’ unipolar moment……Page 72
4 New Challenges to US Hegemony: China and the Muslim World……Page 79
The challenge from China……Page 80
The Muslim challenge……Page 86
5 Military Power and Democratic Transition……Page 99
The uses and abuses of military power……Page 100
Military power and democracy……Page 104
Coalition-building or unilateral action?……Page 108
The importance of restraint……Page 111
6 The Temptation of Preventive War……Page 117
Modern precedents for pre-emptive and preventive wars……Page 120
Israel’s preventive war precedents in the Middle East……Page 121
The United States creeps toward pre-emptive and preventive strategies……Page 123
The US decision to launch preventive war……Page 125
Fire discipline……Page 128
Precision attacks……Page 130
Preventive war and the ‘axis of evil’……Page 132
Advantages and disadvantages of preventive war……Page 134
The new face of conflict……Page 138
Terrorism as a concept……Page 141
New and old terrorism……Page 142
Al-Qaeda, affiliates, regional jihadists and copycats……Page 145
Anti-terrorist strategies……Page 149
Bush’s moment: war without purpose……Page 151
8 Homeland (In)Security: The Shield……Page 154
Civil liberties……Page 158
The Patriot Act……Page 159
Enemy combatants……Page 162
Prison abuses……Page 166
Justice or security?……Page 167
The Department of Homeland Security……Page 169
Border controls……Page 170
The Intelligence agencies……Page 172
Nuclear terrorism……Page 174
Financial costs……Page 178
Homeland insecurities……Page 179
Security or insecurity?……Page 180
9 Creating Quagmires: Winning the Wars, Losing the Peace……Page 183
Context and war in Afghanistan……Page 184
Context and war in Iraq……Page 186
Justifications and denunciations of the wars……Page 188
Consequences of the wars……Page 191
Afghanistan since the war……Page 192
Iraq since the war……Page 193
Constitutional developments in Iraq……Page 196
Staying power and counter-insurgency……Page 199
Ending insurgencies……Page 200
Quagmires……Page 203
10 The Burden of Power……Page 211
Bibliography……Page 219
B……Page 228
C……Page 229
E……Page 231
G……Page 232
H……Page 233
I……Page 234
K……Page 235
M……Page 236
N……Page 237
P……Page 238
R……Page 239
S……Page 240
T……Page 241
W……Page 242
Y……Page 243