A Study of the United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East after 11 September (On the Basis of Aggressive Realism theory

Subject Areas :

Ebrahim Mottaghi ¹ , Khoram Baghayee ² , Maysam Rahimi ³

1 - 1. استاد و عضو هیئت علمی گروه علوم سیاسی دانشگاه تهران
2 - ([e-mail]) 2. دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد جامعه شناسی سیاسی دانشگاه تهران
3 - ([e-mail]). کارشناس ارشد روابط بینالملل دانشگاه علامه طباطبایی

Received: 2010-08-26 Accepted : 2010-11-19 Published : 2009-12-01

Keywords: Foreign Policy, the Middle East, aggressive realism, 11September,

Abstract :

Terrorist events of 11 September 2001 opened a new chapter in domestic and foreign policies of Bush (junior) administration. After the end of the cold war the United States suffered a vacuum for its security strategy. During the cold war era, the United States chose the deterrence strategy. The end of the cold war meant the end of that strategy. As a result during 1991-2000 years there was a security vacuum for the United States. But the September 11 terrorist attacks created an opportunity for the protagonists of that country to adopt a new strategy in foreign policy and international affairs. The Neo-conservatives after September 11 made use of this opportunity to aggrandizement the danger of terrorism at home for gaining popular support and in international arena they could consolidate their hegemony and the leadership of the world. The United States after these incidents took up new policies and objectives. Besides that the United States pursued a new concept in security in foreign policy and in this direction the strategy of pre-emptive attack was adopted. In other words the strategy of “deterrence” gave its place to “increasing intervention”. Hence one notices that the realist approach has been strengthened by American statesmen and decision-makers and they have turned towards security policies and unilateralism in international relations. One of the new approaches which is being stressed today in analysis of international relations and the United States foreign policy is aggressive realism. In aggressive realism the emphasis is placed on the increasing of power as an aim for achieving hegemonic status in international system (as the principal behavior of big powers). The present article by making use of this theoretical framework tries to explain the United States foreign policy in the Middle East after the year 2001.