U.s. Neo-conservatives And The Bush Diplomatic Strategy

Beginning with the birth and development of neoconservatism, the basic concepts and viewpoints on foreign policy of neocons are introduced in this paper. In order to understand the distinctiveness of neoconservatism, a comparison between neoconservatism, neoliberalism and traditional conservatism is made.Neoconservatives used to be a part of liberal camp in 1960s.Owing to their disapproval of the extreme activities in the counterculture movement, they began their attack on liberals in magazines and newspapers. The result is that they gradually turned away from the liberal camp and finally turned to the conservative camp in the end of 1970s..When Reagan came into office in 1980s, the neoconservatives got the opportunity to put their foreign policy vision into practice. The neoconservatism became a conspicuous force for the restricted anti-communist thought in American foreign policy circle.The development of neoconservatism was in a zigzag way. Up to the middle of 1990s, the neoconservatism had merged with conservatism and it was hard to tell a neoconservative from a conservative in domestic policy. And just at that time, the God father of neocon, Irving kristol put it that neoconservatism had become a word only with historical meaning.However, the neoconservatives did not die. It is still in the course of evolution. The international situation of the post-cold war made the neocons think about American national interest and international position again.It is the neocons who first put forward the concepts of unipolar and new empire. It is the neocons who first advocated exporting American democracy to the outside world; the democratic system and the value of America could be universalized. The reason for the neocons to consider this way is American's unparalleled military power and the win of the cold war. It is actually a disguised idea of ideological war. The final aim is to reconstruct the world in America image.After the development of several decades, neoconservatism had become a special force directing American foreign policy, and with its own world view, strategic definition, neoconservatism evolved into a systematic thought with rich connotations.The idea of preemption and regime change shown in Bush Doctrine after 9·11, was formed under the influence of neocnoservatism, which distincted neoconservatism from other societal thoughts in foreign policy circle .The compassionate conservative of Bush has much in common with neoconservatives, which made it possible for the neocons to influence Bush's foreign policy. With the emergence of the unprecedented terrorism attack on 9·11, the USA was faced with a special security condition, the offensive foreign policy of the neocons became the last straw for Bush to catch. Therefore, the key elements of neoconservatives are embodied in Bush Doctrine.The war over Afghanistan and Iraq is a practice of neoconservative thought. It is also a beginning for Bush government to reform the Middle East with American democracy, which will exert far-reached influence on international society and relations among main powers in world stage.The disorder in Afghanistan and Iraq greatly undermined the Greater Middle East Initiative; the neoconservative strategy is criticized by people, which cannot change the rigid concept of the neocons. As an odd mixture of liberalism and conservatism, neoconservatism will become a long term factor influencing American foreign strategy.