DISCURSUL INAUGURAL AL LUI GEORGE W. BUSH PENTRU AL DOILEA MANDAT PREZIDENTIAL: O ANALIZĂ DIN PERSPECTIVA TEORIILOR RELATIILOR INTERNATIONALE
THE SECOND INAUGURAL SPEECH GAVE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, AN ANALYSIS BASED ON THE TENTES OF SEVERAL MAINSTREAM IR THEORIES

Summary/Abstract: As the title reveals by itself, our present study puts forward an analysis of the second inaugural speech gave by president George W. Bush, on the 20th of Januarz 2005, based on the tentes of several mainstream IR theories. The argument has two objectives: to identify the level of conformity between the presidential speech and the central claims of idealism (in IR), since our initial hypothesis is that the speech has a strong idealist touch, althought not exclusively idealist. If this is the case, the second objective this paper addresses outlines a set of criticisms, originating in the realist theory, that should be valid for the presidential speech, given the fact that classical realism was born as a critique of the idealist school of thought. The argument is built upon some methodological and theoretical considerations concerning the view we take on the theories used and what we consider to be their hardcore ideas. Only these will be compared to the presidential speech. This simplification is needed to follow our hypothesis in a clear and concise manner, without bringing forward the immense literature written on the two main theories. Last, but not least, the rationale of our attempt here is to present a case in point for the continuous relevance of classical IR theories for the American foreign policy, despite the fact the part of the contemporary literature classifies them as strictly ‘belonging to the past’.

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