Exceptionalism and the George W. Bush Presidency

The policies and attitude of the George W. Bush
Administration towards the international rule of law
reflect a particularly heightened, hegemonic
incarnation of a distinctly American ideology. A
deep-seated system of belief has functioned as a
guiding impulse all throughout the course of U.S.
foreign and domestic policy, the effects of which
have been subsequently cataloged, and
dubbed exceptionalism. The present analysis sounds
a heightened call for concern highlighting both the
unprecedented and often illegal actions taken by the
former administration as per guided by this ethos,
as well as the profound implications said actions
now spell for the international legal regime. As of
now embodied in the global War on Terror of American
design, this foundational philosophy will be
revealed as a highly precarious and dangerous
ideology- which, if continued to be left unchecked
in the hands of the hegemon, could threaten to
undermine the fabric of the international system
itself via a strike through the heart of the very
principles upon which it is based.

Autorentext

Michael Termini graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kent Law School in Canterbury, England with a Master of Laws in International Law and International Relations, and Magna Cum Laude from the State University of New York at New Paltz with a BA in Philosophy and Psychology. He works in Washington DC at the Government Accountability Project.

Klappentext

The policies and attitude of the George W. Bush Administration towards the international rule of law reflect a particularly heightened, hegemonic incarnation of a distinctly American ideology. A deep-seated system of belief has functioned as a guiding impulse all throughout the course of U.S. foreign and domestic policy, the effects of which have been subsequently cataloged, and dubbed "exceptionalism." The present analysis sounds a heightened call for concern highlighting both the unprecedented and often illegal actions taken by the former administration as per guided by this ethos, as well as the profound implications said actions now spell for the international legal regime. As of now embodied in the global War on Terror of American design, this foundational philosophy will be revealed as a highly precarious and dangerous ideology- which, if continued to be left unchecked in the hands of the hegemon, could threaten to undermine the fabric of the international system itself via a strike through the heart of the very principles upon which it is based.