National Security in the Obama Administration: Reassessing the Bush Doctrine

The Bush Doctrine is dead! At least that’s what critics hope. But while new U.S. national security challenges emerge, many post-9/11 threats still persist and the policies of George W. Bush offer one set of strategic answers for how President Obama can confront those dangers. Neither a polemic nor a whitewash, this book provides a careful analysis of the Bush Doctrine—its development, application, and rationale—and assesses its legacy: How will Obama respond to the many foreign policy challenges that await him?
Through an examination of psychology as much as policy, Renshon gives us the first comparative analysis of the Bush Doctrine and the developing Obama Doctrine. The book analyzes the range of national security issues Obama will face and the political divisions that permeate U.S. national security debates. It is essential reading for anyone looking to understand how presidents assess security risks generally and how Obama specifically is likely to adapt the Bush Doctrine to his own worldview.

Stanley A. Renshon is a Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He is the author of over ninety articles and fourteen books and is a certified psychoanalyst.

Preface 1. The Obama Presidency and the World He Inherits Part 1: The Bush Doctrine Reconsidered 2. The Evolution of a Post 9/11 National Security Perspective 3. The Real Bush Doctrine 4. The Bush Doctrine: Myths and Criticisms Part 2: The Strategic World After 9/11 5. The New Calculus of Risk 6. Deterrence, Containment and Adversarial Bargaining Post 9/11: North Korea and Iran 7. Dangerous Threats and the Use of Force 8. Strategic Options and the Future of the Bush Doctrine Part 3: The Politics of Post 9/11 National Security 9. The Politics of Risk Assessment 10. The Politics of Post 9/11 National Security: A Profound Worldview Divide 11. Obama’s National Security Tasks: Worldview, Leadership and Judgment