Position Paper

FOREIGN POLICY 6

114.14/115 = A+

Foreign Policy of USA

Under

George H.W. Bush and Georg W. Bush

By Kendall Brooks

Intro to Public Policy Analysis

Dr. Timothy Smith

Strayer University

January 25, 2021

Foreign Policy of USA under George H.W. Bush and Georg W. Bush

George H.W Bush and George W. Bush are two former presidents of the United States of America who ruled the country in a critical phase of history. George H.W Bush assumed power when the cold war was in its last breath. The period was significant for America and had a profound impact on the entire world simply because the end of the cold war led to the emergence of new world order. In this juncture of history, George H. W. Bush's foreign policy has been remarkable, particularly for international law supremacy. Senior Bush's political insight and ability to understand the foreign policy and complexities of the situation were fair enough to shift the world from the cold war to the new world order. During his entire time, he focused on international laws, took consultative policies, accepted multilateralism, and avoid unilateral decisions. Unlike his father, George W. Bush pursued his foreign policy in different ways. George W. Bush's foreign policy mostly revolved around his nationalism and his unilateralism. Disregard his allies and world views. Junior Bush framed policies in foreign affairs that impacted America's social and economic matters but have a profound and disastrous impact on some parts of the world. His approach to the war on terror persists even after two decades of its initiation, putting an adverse effect on America and the regional economy. Moreover, his unilateral foreign policy maligned America's position on Human Rights, international laws, and globalization. The following are the details of senior and junior Bush's foreign policy of the United States of America (Reilly 2006). 

Foreign Policy of George H. W. Bush

As the 41st president of the United States of America, George H. W. Bush came into power in 1989. It was a time when the Soviet Union was disintegrated after four and half decades of ideological and economic war with the United States of America. In this critical juncture of history, it was imperative to have a statesman who led America and give direction to the rest of the world. Being a sole superpower, it was indispensable for the United States of America to lead the world. Keeping the view of this importance, George H. W Bush gave a new guideline to the world what we called "The New World Order." The new world order was a guideline that how the international system should run. Previously there were two aggressive approaches: Soviet-led communism and USA lead capitalism. The Soviet Union's disintegration provided an open field for America to implement its agendas that had long been struggled for them. The situation in the Middle East was also different in those days. Iraq- Iran war, though, ended but had put adverse impact on the regional peace.

Moreover, the Iraq attack on Kuwait's small kingdom has created another challenge for America in the post-Cold War phase. Reacting to the Iraq action, George H.W. Bush demanded a complete withdrawal of the Iraqi force. Consulted with allies, the United Nations, and even with the broken Soviet Union, United States used force against Iraq. Since the U.N. Resolution's very purpose was to evict the Iraqi force from Kuwait, George H.W. Bush did not need advanced and remained under the aspiration of U.N. resolution (Nelson 2014). 

Foreign Policy of George W. Bush

George w. Bush came into power in 2000 and ruled the country with different foreign affairs approaches. Unlike his father, George W. Bush's foreign policy was assertive, unilateral, and nationalist. He focused more on America than the rest of the world. His predecessors advocated globalization, international laws, human rights, etc., but George W. Bush completely deviated from these norms. Like his father, W. Bush renovated the American military and spent more its rebuilding. But unlike his father, he initiated a costly national missile defense system that protects America against the enemy's missile. His primary focus remained on federal building and disregarded globalization. With his unilateral decision, Mr. W. Bush rejected the 1997 Koyoto Protocol, a commitment of the international community to thwart the hazardous gaseous emission; withdrawal of International Criminal Court (ICC), which had a deal to punish the culprit who abuses human rights; and imposed a unilateral tariff on steel which deviates the principle of World Trade Organization (WTO) discourage protectionism. Through these decisions, he turned from international norms, human rights, and fair trade. In the initial time, his unilateral approaches annoyed enemies and friends alike. The unfortunate tragedy of 9/11 provided him an excuse to advance his expansionist policies. Immediately after an attack on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, W. Bush declared war against Al-Qaida and its facilitators. In October 2001, the United States of America invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan (Guzzini 2002).In 2003, Bush invaded Iraq and eliminated Saddam Hussain. Though the attack on Afghanistan was invoked by article 51 of the UN Charter, which gives to self-defense, the Iraq attack by the United States was unilateral and against international laws' norms. U.N. did not allow invading Iraq, but this decision was unilateral. The unilateral decision of W. George W. Bush's policy related to Saddam Hussain of Iraq was of his view that the latter could pose a threat to Jews and Americans in the Middle East. Under the guise of the Weapon of Mass, Destruction America attach to Iraq.

On the other hand, Bush remained cautious in dealing with Korea and Iran's nuclear programs. Bush's policies had an economic and social impact on the United States and the world. The excessive spending on the military, open two wars, and tax cuts had a tremendous impact on the United States of America's economy. 

Critique of Policies of Both the administrations

The foreign policy of George H.W Bush always remained pragmatic and consultative. After the end of the cold war, it was necessary to give a new order. He valued international laws and adhered to globalism. On the other hand, the junior Bush was nationalist, disregarded international norms, and formulated foreign policies unilaterally. George W. Bush's policies not only affected America but equally harmed the world at large. The economic impact of Bush's foreign policy still affects the world.

References

Guzzini, Stefano. 2002. Foreign Policy Without Diplomacy: Bush Administration at Crossroad. International Relation, 16(2). Pp 291-297.

Reilly, Marc J.O. 2006. Like father, like son? A comprehensive of the foreign policies of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Historical Actual Online (10). Pp 17-36

Nelson, Michael & Barber A. peery. 2014. Inside the Presidency of George H. W. Bush. New York: Cornell University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt5hh0w3

Powaski, Ronald E. (n.d). Ideals, Interests and U.S Foreign Policies from George H. W Bush to Donald Trump. Berlin: springerlink. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-97295-4