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home > the cfr think tank > research projects > U.S. Foreign Policy Program
Peter Beinart
Isobel Coleman
Michael Gerson
Walter Mead
Elliot Schrage
Timothy Shah
Robert BlackwillAn open question as George Bush took the oath of office on January 20, 2005, was how different American foreign policy would be in his second term in office. During his first term, he had challenged traditional approaches to foreign policy. Even before the September 11 attacks, his administration made clear that it refused to accept constraints on American freedom of action, doubted the value of international institutions, and was prepared to alienate even close allies in pursuing what it saw as American interests. Those instincts intensified in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The president announced the Bush Doctrine, which held that the United States would “make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these attacks and those who harbor them.” The application of this doctrine led to the Afghanistan War, which had the support of much of the rest of the world, and then the Iraq War, which did not. The administration dismissed complaints that it had invaded Iraq without the express authorization of the United Nations Security Council, even as poll after poll showed that America’s image was plunging around the world.
Featured Projects
September 1, 2002—Present
| Director: | Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy |
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This series invites scholars, policymakers, and leaders to discuss a wide range of issues related to social, political, and economic development, women's empowerment, and education.
January 1, 2005—June 30, 2007
| Staff: | Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy |
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Walter Russell Mead is examining the emergence of a middle class in several developing economies and studying the implication of this new force for American foreign policy. The project compares the political role that the middle class played in promoting democracy during the process of industrialization in the West with the role the middle class is playing today in promoting democracy in the Third World.
January 1, 2006—Present
| Director: | Elliot Schrage, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Business and Foreign Policy |
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Featured Publications
September/October 2006
| Authors: | Ivo H. Daalder James M. Goldgeier, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations |
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Summary
June 2006
| Authors: | Steven A. Cook, Douglas Dillon Fellow Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Alliance Relations |
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Council Special Report No. 15
This Council Special Report makes the case that Turkey’s strategic importance to the United States is greater than ever, and that a major effort needs to be undertaken to renew and revitalize the relationship.
January/February 2006
| Author: | Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy |
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Summary
April 2004
| Author: | Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy |
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In Power, Terror, Peace, and War, Mead—one of the most original writers on U.S. foreign policy—provides a fascinating and timely account of the Bush administration’s foreign policy and its current grand strategy for the world.
October 2003
| Authors: | Michael A. McFaul, Stanford University James M. Goldgeier, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations |
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This book traces the evolution of American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union, and later Russia, during the tumultuous and uncertain period following the end of the cold war. It examines how American policymakers—particularly in the executive branch—coped with the opportunities and challenges presented by the new Russia.
Climate change poses threats to national security in a number of ways. In this report, sponsored by the Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Joshua W. Busby offers specific recommendations for confronting this important issue, including a list of "no-regrets" policies.
This report, by International Affairs Fellow Michelle D. Gavin and sponsored by the Center for Preventive Action, surveys the current situation in Zimbabwe and proposes steps that can increase the likelihood that regime change, when it comes, will bring constructive reform instead of conflict and state collapse.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
Gary Samore
Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1-212-434-9627
gsamore@cfr.org
Sebastian Mallaby
Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for
Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior
Fellow for International Economics
smallaby@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1-212-434-9753
jhill@cfr.org
The David Rockefeller Studies Program is the Council’s “think tank.” Its work is integral to achieving the Council’s goal of contributing to the foreign policy debate. Fellows in the Studies Program do this by researching, writing, and commenting on the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.
Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
