The Bush administration has effected a revolution in the foundational goals of US foreign policy in its shift from containment to preemption, from multilateral leadership to unilateral militarism, and from consensual realism to radical neoconservatism. Examining the legacy of the forty-third President, author Ilan Peleg incisively analyzes the complex factors underlying the Bush Doctrine: neoconservative ideology, real and perceived challenges to US world supremacy, Bush’s personality, the White House’s unique decision-making process, and the impact of September 11.

Written at the end of the Bush tenure in office, the book offers recommendations for future administrations, including the reestablishment of a bipartisan consensus on foreign policy, increased emphasis on multilateralism, the demilitarization of US foreign policy, resolution of serious regional conflicts, and more realistic expectations about noncoerced democratization around the world.

"Despite its title, this book focuses more on the philosophy and personalities that shaped the Bush administration's foreign policy than on the consequences of those policies for future administrations. Labeling Bush's foreign policy 'revolutionary' in its neoconservative aspirations, Peleg (Human Rights in the West Bank and Gaza) sees the administration as breaking decisively from the philosophical orientation of previous post — cold war presidents. The author argues that the ascendancy of an 'inexperienced and unknowledgeable' Bush, with the influential neoconservative Cheney at his side, led to this ideological turn, encapsulated in the strategic vision of the Bush Doctrine. Approaching Bush's foreign policy through the frame of the buildup to and aftermath of the Iraq War, Peleg draws on secondary sources to condemn Bush personally and explicitly for many of the failures of his administration, arguing the president lacked basic knowledge of and interest in foreign affairs, and labeling him arrogant and inflexible. Though the book has a straightforward structure, it sometimes feels like a repetitive retread before Peleg offers constructive strategic recommendations in its closing pages." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Peleg (government and law, Lafayette College) examines the controversial foreign policy of the George W. Bush presidency in terms of Bush's response--and the responses of a small group of his advisers and neoconservatives--to the events of September 11, 2001 and other international challenges faced by the United States at the time. The author is unsympathetic to Bush and his administration for what he describes as "misguided leadership" based on erroneous assumptions made and the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. The book explores the neoconservative movement, Bush's personality and temperament, how decisions were made within the administration, lessons for future presidents, and other relevant topics. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

A penetrating analysis of the complex of factors that have shaped George W. Bush's foreign policy, with recommendations for future administrations

Ilan Peleg is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He is the editor-in-chief of Israel Studies Forum and author of several books, including the award-winning Human Rights in the West Bank and Gaza (1995) and the acclaimed Democratizing the Hegemonic State (2007).