Beyond Primacy: American Grand Strategy in the Post-September 11 Era
Author(s)
Sloan, Elinor
Abstract
Discusses the momentous change in foreign policy as articulated in the 2002 National Security Strategy for the US formulated by the George W. Bush administration. Due to the national threat presented by international terrorism as witnessed in the terrorist attacks of September 11 (2001), the US decided to go beyond the traditional strategy of primacy for a balance of power that favors freedom to a more proactive military posture that includes preemptive measures to find, stop and defeat terrorism and pursue nations that protect and aid terrorism while developing or seeking weapons of mass destruction. Although the UN was established under principles of collective self-defense or collective security, new international threats make preemption a necessary step in some circumstances. US policy toward Russia, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Israel and the Palestinians, the People’s Republic of China and other countries in East and South Asia is discussed, and a window is provided on the US grand strategy with its unilateralist, imperialist elements.
