President Bush's Foreign Policy Decision Making after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

In the United States, the President is the principal actor in foreign policy making. This was certainly the case after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the deadliest attack on U.S. soil. In the field of international relations, however, most of the research regarding U.S. foreign policy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks have focused on evaluating or criticizing the war on terror, while the national security decisions that led to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq have been under-researched. Previous research has left much to be desired; this research aims to unearth what empowered President Bush to make such foreign policy decisions. To do so, an analytical framework that combines cognitive and structural approaches(1) has been constructed. Analyzing cognitive aspects and the factors concerning the international security environment after the 9/11 terrorist attacks adequately explains the foreign policy decisions made in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. In this light, the research reaffirms the dominance of the President in U.S. foreign policy making.