Neoconservatism: A Death Prematurely Foretold?

Abstract

The foreign policy mishaps of the Bush administration supposedly discredited neoconservatism as an international political philosophy. Yet, American foreign policy officials continue to advocate for its precepts, namely that US global hegemony and the spread of democracy abroad are mutually necessary for US security and global stability. I argue that such neoconservative beliefs persist—even if the term itself is rejected—because it brings together ideas from liberalism and realism into a more coherent foreign policy philosophy than either liberalism and realism as currently conceived. Rather, the most coherent alternative to neoconservatism is a restrained realism. This poses a particular dilemma for liberals, as either choice requires jettisoning a core belief.