"An article published in the latest issue of Diplomatic History examines Bush’s post 9/11 national security strategy in a historical perspective. In doing so, author Melvyn P. Leffler finds that there is nothing new or revolutionary about the Bush administration’s foreign policy. Focusing on values and stressing moral clarity, as President Bush has done, are traditional means to mobilize public support, especially in times of heightened threat perception. 9/11 left America feeling threatened and, as the author suggests, US leaders feeling a combination of guilt, outrage, and responsibility. “Like other times in American History, when threat perception has been high, policymakers gravitate to rhetorical strategies emphasizing ideals and values,” Leffler explains....

....The reputation of the US is low. “The balance between ideals and interests has been dangerously skewed in favor of the former, and the result may be an ominous overassertion of American power,” Leffler concludes. “…Interests need to temper ideals and discipline power. This does not require a revolution in thinking; it requires the exercise of good judgment.”

These articles are published in the Diplomatic History roundtable issue on The Bush Administration’s Foreign Policy in Historical Prospective. As the sole journal devoted to the history of U.S. diplomacy, foreign relations, and national security, Diplomatic History examines issues from the colonial period to the present in a global and comparative context. It is published on behalf of The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations."