Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, shattered the prevalent optimism in the United States that had blossomed during the tranquil and prosperous 1990s, when democracy seemed triumphant and catastrophic wars were a relic of the past.  President George W. Bush responded with a bold and controversial grand strategy for waging a preemptive Global War on Terror, which has ignited passionate debate about the purposes of American power and the nation’s proper role in the world.  In Defense of the Bush Doctrine provides a broader historical context for the post-September 11 American foreign policy that will transform world politics well into the future.  Dr. Kaufman connects the Bush Doctrine and current issues in American foreign policy to the deeper tradition of American diplomacy.

Robert G. Kaufman is a political scientist specializing in American foreign policy, international relations, national security and various aspects of American politics.  He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law School and his BA, MA, M. Phil, and Ph.D. from Columbia University.  Dr. Kaufman has written frequently for scholarly journals and the more popular publications, including The Weekly Standard, Policy Review, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the Washington Times.  He is the author of numerous publications, including Henry M. Jackson: A Life in Politics.   He is also a former Bradley Scholar and current Adjunct Scholar at The Heritage Foundation.