‘Copy That…’: A Russian ‘Bush Doctrine’ in the CIS?

Abstract:

The large-scale terrorist attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001 have altered the country’s threat perceptions radically and engendered significant changes in its foreign and security policies. Before 11 September, some in the Bush administration were convinced that the structural position of the USA as the world’s sole remaining superpower had to be translated into a more comprehensive vision for promoting regime change in an anarchic international environment along the belt of unrest stretching from the Middle East to Central Asia. What had been a “vision” within the administration prior to 11 September, however, became a “mission” after the attacks. The new “Bush doctrine” adopted after 11 September and presented through the course of 2002 codified an ambitious leadership role for the USA based on not only the presence of military power, but also the use of it.