Globalisation, the New US Exceptionalism and the War on Terror

Abstract This article focuses on the tensions between a new exclusive US exceptionalism after 9/11 and a globalised security environment. The terrorist attacks in Washington and New York revealed that even the world's only superpower is vulnerable to the type of transnational violence that had blighted other countries during the post-cold war era. Yet these events, at least in the short term, have served to intensify the ‘distinctive American internationalism’ of the Bush administration. This trend culminated in the USA bypassing the authority of the UN Security Council and leading an invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Nevertheless, there are growing signs that this new American exceptionalism has become a serious impediment to effectively prosecuting the war on terror. In the era of globalisation it is the support of other nations and multilateral institutions that offers the best hope of ensuring that the USA lives in a more secure world. Without moving to a more inclusive form of exceptionalism, Washington will struggle to sustain the level of international support that it needs to prevail in the current struggle against terrorism.