The rise of the rogue states doctrine : the Clinton and Bush approach to national security in the post-cold war era

Miles, A 2010, The rise of the rogue states doctrine : the Clinton and Bush approach to national security in the post-cold war era , PhD thesis, Salford : University of Salford.

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Abstract

This PhD examines the rise of the rogue states doctrine in US foreign policy, which had its roots in the presidencies of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush but was most clearly developed in the post-Cold War era by Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Libya have been consistently classed as aggressive and destabilising regimes whose pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction and support for terrorism has rendered them on the 'wrong side of history' and a threat to US national security that has necessitated continued international activism and engagement on the world stage. The thesis contends that the doctrine's development has been informed by traditional US foreign policy drivers that pre-date the end of the Cold War, such as the concept of exceptionalism, and places the rogue states approach within a wider historical time frame. Having considered the roots of the rogue states doctrine, the thesis identifies and examines four episodes of its application in the period 1993-2004. These episodes, which are split equally between the Clinton and Bush administrations, demonstrate how hard-line rhetoric and policies that have targeted the regimes in question have failed to achieve international consensus and have been shaped by domestic considerations, such as the promotion of national missile defence and lobby group dynamics, rather than nuanced policy formulation. Detailed consideration of the US approach to rogue states, and an appreciation of its centrality to post-Cold War foreign policy, offers scope for both a critique of the Clinton and Bush strategies and a wider understanding of issues concerning US international behaviour in the period under consideration. By comparing the policies followed by the two administrations, the thesis identifies continuity in their approach to the rogue states that belies the apparent differences in the presidents' world views and foreign policy prescriptions. Finally, evaluation of the US approach to the states targeted under the doctrine raises questions about the utility of an approach that has favoured containment, sanctions, demonising rhetoric and military force for addressing the threat posed by a disparate set of international regimes.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Contributors:	Dumbrell,, J (Supervisor)
Schools:	Schools > School of Humanities, Languages & Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Institutional Repository
Date Deposited:	03 Oct 2012 13:34
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2022 11:25
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/26819

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