Article
Power and Crisis: Bush’s War on Terror, Democratic Rollback and the Four Dimensions of Power
Journal of Political Power
(2025)
Abstract
Ironically, the mastermind behind 9/11, Osama Bin Laden, vowed to destroy the United States, and the executive branch of American government proved to be his accomplice in bringing this about with respect to American democracy. After the attack, executive powers were extra-legally expanded, with many initiatives being secretive. Surveillance powers were expanded in violation of American civil rights to privacy. Hundreds were incarcerated, killed and tortured without public oversight or due process. Many of them were American citizens. The President usurped expanded powers as commander and chief that violated statutes of international law on the conduct of war. Indeed, the celebrated historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (2004), who popularized the term “imperial presidency” as descriptive metaphor explaining the presidential abuse of power in American political history, announced its rebirth following 9/11. Jack Goldsmith (2007), an attorney with the Justice Department, referred to the process of usurpation of political power as the “terror presidency.” Bush went well beyond constitutional constraints in statute and spirit in perpetrating his war on terror. American democracy recoils from the authoritarian machinations. This article tries to explain the power dynamics behind his political coup. It will evaluate how Bush subverted democracy in the US after the 9/11 crisis. It does so by casting light on how Bush employed levers of influence across the four principal dimensions or faces of power to implement his war on terror.
Keywords
- Terrorism,
- dimensions of power,
- George W. Bush,
- 9/11,
- crisis and power,
- US foreign policy
Disciplines
Publication Date
2025
Citation Information
Giulio M Gallarotti. "Power and Crisis: Bush’s War on Terror, Democratic Rollback and the Four Dimensions of Power" Journal of Political Power Vol. 18 Iss. 1 (2025) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/giulio_gallarotti/75/