Character and Consequence by Robert A. Strong, looks at important foreign policy decisions of George H. W. Bush through the lens of character and asks how personal traits like loyalty, compassion, reticence and audacity had an impact on American foreign policy at a pivotal point in world history. Combining biographical observations with in-depth case studies of complicated international events, the book explores foreign policy decision-making and presidential personality for a broad audience. It is recommended to those curious about a critical era in U.S. diplomatic history, and to students of American politics and international relations who want to understand America's forty-first president and his decisions and actions at the end of the Cold War.
Robert A. Strong is William Lyne Wilson professor of politics at Washington and Lee University.
Chapter One - Loyalty: The John Tower Confirmation Battle Chapter Two - Reticence: Deciding What to Say, and Not to Say, at the End of the Cold War Chapter Three - A Gentleman's Outrage: The Tipping Point in the Decision to Invade Panama Chapter Four - Insight: German Unification Anchored in the NATO Alliance Chapter Five - Audacity: Doubling Down on Desert Shield Chapter Six - Compassion: The American Military Intervention in Somalia
With literary flare and scholarly precision, Robert Strong sheds light on how President George Bush's character--his loyalty, compassion, audacity, and other traits--shaped his approach to the important foreign policy decisions of his administration. A particular virtue of Strong's approach is the use he makes of the Miller Center's extensive oral history interviews of leading administration figures who knew the president well and saw him up close. -- Michael Nelson, Rhodes College Robert Strong deftly demonstrates in this illuminating, and timely, study that presidential character counts. Taking us behind the scenes for some of the most important foreign policy developments of the last century, Strong relates how the basic traits of George H. W. Bush's character, including audacity and compassion, forged his administration's response to a cluster of global crises at the end of the Cold War. Bush did not merely convene a team of remarkable professionals to manage the nation's problems at an historic moment, he led them through the force of his character. Strong shows how that reshaped the world. -- Russell L. Riley, University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs
