The Influence Of Neoconservatism On U.S. Middle East Policy Under The Bush Administration

Before September 11,2001, it would have been difficult to discuss a coherent or monolithic neoconservative foreign policy of the U.S. Since the attacks, however, a distinct neoconservative identity has emerged—one predicated upon the forceful usage of American power to overthrow "autocrats", promote national interests, and forge "democracies". This thesis attempts to portray how neoconservatives have used the September 11 events to promote a right-wing agenda. The author's intent is to bridge a gap in the existing literature by demonstrating how ideology influences the conduct of American Middle East policy. In this quest, the U.S. policy toward Israel, Iraq, and Iran are used as examples to examine. Samuel Huntington's "the clash of civilizations" is used as the basic theory to analyze the neoconservative foreign policy. The six chapters of the thesis go as follows:Chapter One is to give an introduction of the thesis, including Definitions, The Historical Context; Chapter Two is Literature review; Chapter Three is to give an account of the evolution of The Neoconservatives and its significance; Chapter Four and Five use Israel, Iraq and Iran as examples to give a practical explanation of the American Middle East policy; Chapter Six is to make a conclusion of the thesis and show a topic for further study.