home > think tank > research projects > U.S. Foreign Policy Program
James Lindsay
Walter Mead
Isobel Coleman
Matthew Waxman
Kara McDonaldAn 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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|
Featured Publications
July 13, 2009
Isobel Coleman and Congressman Steve Israel discuss solar villages.
July 6, 2009
Peter Beinart discusses Franklin D. Roosevelt's foreign policy legacy.
June 3, 2009
Michael J. Gerson asks, "In Cairo, will [President Obama] have anything to say to those fighting for human rights?"
May 29, 2009
Michael J. Gerson argues that Republican opposition to President Obama's appointment of Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court would be "politically risky and ultimately futile."
May 27, 2009
Michael J. Gerson argues that Republicans should be listening to Colin Powell.
May 20, 2009
Michael J. Gerson argues, "the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress have delivered a series of blows to the pride and morale of the Central Intelligence Agency."
May 14, 2009
Leslie H. Gelb discusses foreign policy bestsellers.
May 14, 2009
Richard N. Haass argues that "partial success" is preferable to "expensive failures" in U.S. foreign policy.
May 8, 2009
Leslie H. Gelb discusses the meeting among Presidents Obama, Zardari, and Karzai.
May 6, 2009
Leslie H. Gelb argues that President Obama's upcoming meeting with Asif Ali Zardari will ignore the issue of Pakistan's supply of nuclear weapons.
May 4, 2009
Richard N. Haass argues that the second Iraq war was a war of choice - and a blunder.
May 18, 2009
Richard N. Haass discusses the difficulties surrounding dissent in policymaking.
May 1, 2009
Richard N. Haass argues that "criminalizing legitimate policy differences will paralyze the conduct of foreign policy."
May 1, 2009
Peter Beinart argues that in the Palestinian territories, "it's best to stop worrying so much about what Hamas says and try to create a situation in which we can better influence what it does."
April 27, 2009
Michael J. Gerson discusses the Justice Department's release of the memos on coercive interrogations.
April 11, 2009
Walter Russell Mead argues that an increasing number of developing countries are turning into the "pacesetters of liberal global capitalism."
April 10, 2009
Michael Gerson argues that Secretary Gates's defense budget focuses resources and attention precisely where they are most necesary.
April 8, 2009
Max Boot discusses Defense Secretary Robert Gates's proposed defense agenda.
April 3, 2009
Michael Gerson reviews Dambisa Moyo's Dead Aid, in the Washington Post.
March 27, 2009
Leslie H. Gelb argues that President Obama's team has yet to identify the benchmarks that are central to the president's Afghanistan strategy, and knowing what President Obama chooses not to do in the region is just as critical as knowing the policies he does plan to carry out.
March 25, 2009
Michael Gerson argues that in light of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur's refugee camps, the international community faces a difficult choice: accept President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's decision to expel relief groups, or increase pressure on Sudan's regime at the risk of more short-term suffering and death.
March 20, 2009
Leslie H. Gelb expresses concern that the White House may be focusing too narrowly on its own strategy for Afghanistan, and Congress will have to take responsibility to explore a larger set of options.
March 18, 2009
Michael Gerson examines the Obama administration's "incremental approach" to negotiations with Iran.
March 18, 2009
Noah Feldman asks, "Has the Obama administration changed the legal rules for detaining suspects in the war on terrorism, or is it continuing in the footsteps of the Bush administration?"
February 26, 2009
Leslie H. Gelb envisions the state of the world in 2040.
October 2007
Michael J. Gerson draws on his White House experiences as the chief speechwriter and a policy adviser to President George W. Bush to argue for a renewed idealism in domestic and foreign policy.
October 2007
An illuminating account by Walter Russell Mead of the birth and rise of the global political and economic system that, sustained first by Britain and now by America, created the modern world.
June 2006
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.
April 2004
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
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.
Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.