Twenty years after Iraq: evaluating the legacy and impact of George W. Bush's foreign policies

Debates and controversies surrounding the conceptualisation and conduct of US foreign policy during the George W. Bush presidency (2001-2009) are hardy perennials in scholarly discourse. This short introduction to the collection of articles that follows identifies and briefly discusses key underlying and connecting themes: the Bush administration's approach and attitude to multilateralism, the hegemonic unipolarity impulse underpinning its policy approaches, and a consistent interest in great power politics and relations. Appreciating the significance of these can help us to better understand and explain the main drivers behind Bush foreign policies as well as in evaluating the ways and extent to which the latter have continued to influence and inform policy approaches pursued by Bush's three successors to date.