Abstract:
U.S. foreign policy under George W. Bush went from distancing itself from nation-building
efforts to embrace a full-scale nation-building adventure in Iraq. The “Bush Doctrine,”
developed by neoconservatives in the Bush administration, pushed for preemptive wars against
imminent threats, using its democracy agenda as a cover for other agendas and objective. This
thesis investigates US policy in the Middle East during Bush's presidency and the geopolitical
consequences it had on the region. To this end, it examines, among other factors, how the
neoconservatives’ ideology and commitment to Israel shaped America’s foreign policy
objectives toward Iraq and Lebanon. The thesis uses these two case studies to contrast the Bush
administration’s geopolitical objectives in the Middle East after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against
its democratization discourse.
