On The US Foreign Policy Adjustment After September 11～(th) Event

The September 11th Terrorist Attack has been a great blow upon the US territory in the new century, has made the US government and the public become aware of the gravity of international terrorist threats and has exerted in-depth and far-reaching impact upon the US and even the whole world. First of all, terrorist threat has caused serious psychological pressure upon the American people. At least in terms of public opinion in the US, the concern about terrorist threat has gone beyond the special interests of domestic interest groups and led to re-formation of national identification against"the enemy."The emergence of such common understanding at home has provided powerful drive for George W. Bush Administration to adjust its foreign policy and has made George W. Bush Administration adopt the diplomatic philosophy of neo-conservatism and form the"Bushist"foreign policy characterized with"preemption, regime replacement, unilateralism and pursuit of merciful hegemony." It is generally agreed that the promulgation of National Security Strategy of the United States of America on September 20, 2002 marked the formation of Bushist foreign policy. Apart from iterating some traditional objectives of the US foreign policy such as promotion of free and democratic government and free trade system across the world, the report also put forward a noticeable viewpoint marking the shift in the US foreign policy, i.e., the non-state terrorists armed with mass destructive weapons cannot be treated with containing and deterring instruments. Therefore, the report proposed that the US adopt the methods of preemption, preventive war and unilateralism to cope with the state and non-state factors threatening its security.Under the guidance of the key concepts of National Security Strategy of the United States of America, the adjustment of the US foreign policy is mainly reflected in the following aspects: firstly the strategic objective has been adjusted and anti-terrorism and nonproliferation have become the principal issues of the US. Although terrorism is confronting a world superpower with a non-state entity that is no match for the US, its combination with mass destructive weapons would cause a fatal blow upon the US. Since the September 11th Event, anti-terrorism has been closely linked with nonproliferation. Secondly, the strategic means has been changed. Unilateralism and preemption have become the means of carrying out its foreign policies for the US. In the past, regarding the threats from the entities in the form of state, the US was able to intimidate its rivals through determent and with its overwhelming dominance in nuclear force and conventional force. However, terrorism cannot be deterred, so the US has adopted the means of preemption. In addition, the US would resort to unilateralism if multilateralism, consultation and cooperation with international community do not work. The starting of Iraq War is an evident example. Thirdly, the emphasis is put on striking Islamic extremist forces and transforming the Middle East. Terrorism is a manifestation of Islamic extremist forces. Moreover, the Islamic extremist forces are mainly concentrated in the Middle East region. To eradicate terrorism, it is necessary to eliminate the Islamic extremist forces, and to eliminate the Islamic forces, it is necessary to transform the Middle East. This is the basic reason why the US proposed the Greater Middle East Initiatives. Fourthly, what corresponds to unilateralism and preemption is cooperation among big powers. The anti-terror needs made the US temporarily set aside its divergence in foreign policy from other big powers and try to push the big powers over to its side and isolate the anti-US forces.In the final analysis, the guiding political philosophy behind the US foreign policy since the September 11th Event has changed whether in terms of contents of policy change or practical results, but the inherent basic aim of the US foreign policy remains unchanged. That is, first of all, the objective of ensuring the dominant position of the US and maintaining the realistic aim of the US hegemony will not change; secondly, the objective of disseminating democracy globally will not change; thirdly, the objective of pursuing traditional geopolitical power and guarding against growth of regional powers will not change.Due to the supreme hegemony of the US, some new situations have inevitably occurred in the field of international relations after the US'adjustment of its foreign policy. These new situations include, the nearly all-inclusive great dominance of the US after the Cold War, the great pressure faced by the US in international community; some improvements in the relations between big powers; predicament due to occurrence of challenging factors in the Middle East and other regions.On the basis of abundant data, this thesis has analyzed the adjustments and changes of the US foreign policy after the September 11th Event and the challenges that such changes face and the impact that they have exerted. This thesis first analyzes the rationale and main contents of new adjustments to the US foreign policy after the September 11th Event and, on this basis, further analyzes the challenges the US foreign policy faces after its adjustment and the new situations occurring in the field of international relations. Through such study, this thesis is intended to provide a useful perspective for observing the evolution of the US foreign policy from the September 11th Event up to the present.