Reciprocal Influence Between International System Structure and Superpowers’ Policies: The Administration of President George Bush, Jr. as a Model

Former French Foreign Minister, Hubert Védrine, invented the term "Hyper Power" to distinguish the United States as an undisputed world’s leader following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. By mid 1990s, a widely spread writings of American Neo-conservatives called for US global hegemony through the exploitation of such an historic moment, which may not be repeated. In the words of Stanley Hoffman, the September 11 bombing was a "blessing from heaven" for the Bush Administration to take a full control of the new International System. This paper attempts to explore US foreign policy perception of the world order under President George Bush. American reactions to international crises, especially in the Middle East, which was the scene for the most part, will be analyzed. In addition, the response of other international powers to the same events will be evaluated. Reciprocal influence of both US and other super powers on the world system will be compared to assess its potency to resist any monocular recommitment by a single power. Most importantly, a recusant world order is more likely to impose drastic changes in the patterns of behavior even on the great powers in the international arena.