Title: After 9/11: Cultural Dimensions of American Global Power
Author: Richard Crockatt
Place of Publication: London
Publisher: Routledge
Year of Publication: 2007
Number of Pages: 261 pp
ISBN: 978-0-415-39284-6
Author: Richard Crockatt
Place of Publication: London
Publisher: Routledge
Year of Publication: 2007
Number of Pages: 261 pp
ISBN: 978-0-415-39284-6
About the Author and the Book
After 9/11 was written by Richard Crockatt who is a professor of American history and head of the school of American Studies at the University of East Anglia. He is a specialist in U.S. foreign policy and contemporary international relations and the author of The Fifty Years War (Routledge, 1995) and America Embattled (Routledge, 2003).
After 9/11 gives us an analysis of American foreign policy and international politics since the end of the Cold War. As the name of the book suggests, the author especially focuses on the cultural politics of the George W. Bush administration's foreign policy and the assumptions underlying United States foreign policy since 11 September 2001.The main themes around which the book is organized are: the role of culture in international politics and the changing nature of American power. To Crockatt cultural perspective is essential in understanding both American foreign policy and how others react to America. This book is composed of seven chapters. Several of the essays offered in this book, examine Samuel Huntington's ''clash of civilizations '' thesis in light of the terrorist attacks against the United States on 9/11.
Chapter Summary and Analysis
In the first chapter named Anti-Americanism and the clash of civilizations the author addresses the term 'civilization'. As the author states the revival of talk about civilization has been one of the striking features of post-Cold War debate about international politics. This revival has been mostly stimulated by Huntington's theory of 'clash of civilizations'. As an example for the use of the word 'civilization' the author refers to George W. Bush's speech about the 'war on terror'. This war on terror is not a clash of civilizations as indicated by the authors of Bush administration's 'National security strategy'. Rather President Bush in his speeches refers to this war as the 'civilization fight' and believes that there are threats to the civilized world. Crockatt then makes comparison between Toynbee's notion of civilization and that of Huntington reaching the point that there are important distinctions between different usages of the term civilization and civilized. Getting back to Huntington's theory and that the great conflict between mankind in the new world is a cultural conflict, Crockatt also believes that cultural conflict has been a major source of global conflict in post-Cold War era. However, he states that there are certain criticisms that can be made of Huntington's thesis. The first one is that "there are many clashes inside civilizations as between them but Huntington's larger thesis would fail if he were to allow intra-civilizations cleavages to predominate over those between civilizations." The second limitation of Huntington's thesis, according to Crockatt is his assumption that cultural differences always produce conflict. Unlike Huntington, Crockatt believes that cultural differences may produce conflicts but not necessarily. He believes that conflicts may also arise between "cultures and nations which mean different things by words which appear to have self-evident meanings such as justice, freedom, democracy etc." The other issue which the writer deals with in this chapter is anti-Americanism. According to Crockatt anti-Americanism is one consequence of the growth of America's civilization-consciousness. To Crockatt, this negative attitude towards the United States which has been strengthened by the events of September 11 and after, is not "a simple hatred of the U.S. but the difficulty of living with a united states which makes grandiose claims on behalf of its own 'civilization'."
The second chapter of this book is titled the role of culture in international relations. To Crockatt a culture is not only composed of books and plays and symphonies but a complex of values, beliefs, habits of feeling and behavior, and institutions- everything that is implied by the term 'way of life'. In this chapter he states that the role of culture in international relations and politics has become a pressing issue. To him the immediate cause of this is the upsurge of international terrorism carried out in the name of the religion of Islam. Also there is long-term reason for this emphasis on culture in the discussions of international relations. Crockatt finds this reason in the changes brought about by the end of the Cold War which replaced culture as the main source of international conflict rather than political ideology and economics.
At the end of this chapter the author once again reminding us of the second limitation of Huntington's theory, believes that culture is not the main or sole explanation for conflict in international relations. However, at the same time he holds that culture plays an important role in international relations. As a matter of fact he points out that President Bush's diplomatic approach was not ''revolutionary '' but, in fact, rooted in core American values, culture and past experiences.
The third chapter of the book focuses on Islam and anti-Americanism. In this chapter the author talks about the relationship between Islam and the west. Although there have been talks and writings about the relationship between Islam and the west for a long time, September 11 put this issue on the spotlight. Crockatt believes that "year zero of the 'great divide' between the West and the Muslim world was 2001." This relationship has worsened since September 11 and its following events and here once again the author refers to the cultural difference and in particular religious belief as an increasingly important factor in international relations. Crockatt proposes two models for the relationship between Islam and America. The first one is the cooperation model and the second one is the confrontation model. Though "the cooperation model is not the dominant model in the world", Crockatt believes that it "describes the aspirations of some individuals." By referring to the terrorist activities related to al-Qaeda that happened after September 11, he holds that the "chances of achieving a sea change in the relationship between America and Islam are postponed" considering the fact that "ordinary Americans are born of the knowledge that these acts of terror are undertaken in the name of Islam."
Chapter four of this book traces the history of Americanism which the writer believes it to be "a curiously unexplored theme for all the commentary on anti-Americanism." In his discussions about anti-Americanism, Crockatt argues that "anti-Americanism as a generalized opposition to American life and culture does not exist." Throughout this chapter the author, deals with different aspects of Americanism such as Americanism as cultural identity, old-fashioned Americanism, Americanism as individualism and Americanism as political ideology. As mentioned by Crockatt this chapter "may go some way towards explaining the narrowness of the image which America often projects of itself and the virulent reaction that image has often aroused."
In chapter five, the writer develops a framework for the discussion of American unilateralism. The points that he discusses in this chapter have a "bearing on the issue of American unilateralism in the policies of the Bush administration." In this chapter as Crockatt himself mentions, he explores the grounds for regarding America's devotion to national sovereignty as a guiding theme of the Bush administration's foreign policy. Crockatt's essays in the fifth chapter are centered on "the models of global order in the post-Cold War World". They cover a good deal of material predating 9/11. Nonetheless the writer tries to show the relevance of such materials to today's issues. He believes that history is not a "mere collection of useful analogies and examples" but rather a "living influence in the present."
In chapters six and seven, the author examines the ideological sources of the so-called 'Bush revolution in foreign policy'. Crockatt sees this revolution as a counterrevolution since it relies "on ideas and assumptions which go back to the roots of American nationhood." In chapter 6, the author talks about the rise and fall of neo-conservatism and explains the failure of no-conservative mission. Also in this chapter, Crockatt makes us familiar with the rhetoric of Bush's speeches. Chapter seven is on Bush administration and the idea of international community. In this chapter, the author defines the idea of international community and puts in a historical context to see how far it is a feature peculiar to the Bush administration and how far a wider feature of American foreign policy.
In the final section of the book, the author draws one important conclusion from all the chapters and that is "ideas have consequences." Crockatt believes that reality is affected by the assumptions we make, the values we hold and the way we interpret the world. Thus, in order to understand a sequence of events like the war in Iraq that happened during Bush Jr residency, we have to look beyond the policies and be mindful of the assumptions that underlie them. This is something usually done in our country. I think that we should not judge U.S. polices without considering their roots in American history, culture and values.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Overall, I think this book gives us a good insight into the Bush administration's foreign policy. Crockatt shows us the contradiction in the way American presidents preach in terms of universalist values while the policies that they implement serve the interest of a group of elites. He does this by addressing issues like anti-Americanism, the clash of civilizations, the failure of the neoconservative mission US foreign policy and President Bush's view of 'international community'. Crockatt rightly criticizes Huntington's clash of civilizations saying that conflicts do not only arise as a result of cultural differences but also by differences in the meanings of universally shared values. Mentioning the case of war in Iraq, the writer gives us a good example of non universality of American conceptions of democracy, liberty and even freedom. In chapter three of this book the writer talks about Islam and anti-Americanism and in chapter four traces the roots of Americanism and anti-Americanism. I suppose that it might have been better to reverse the order of these two chapters so that we could have got a better understanding of the relationship between Islam and America. Finally I think that this book should be read by students and scholars of American studies as well as those of international relations.
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