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Theodore Lowi, a professor at Cornell University and one of the leading political scientists in American History, visited the Hamilton College Government Department, speaking at the faculty and majors dinner. His talk, "Cold War II, reflections on Ideology" addressed the selection process for a model of foreign policy conduct, first pinpointing past presidential selections, and then explaining the inevitability of George W. Bush's choice of what Lowi referred to as Napoleonic foreign policy. "The nature of a cold war," Lowi claimed, "is that it is theory driven." He went on to explain George W. Bush's foreign policy as a "policy of no policy," criticizing governors who become presidents for their narrow focus on domestic policy and specifically Bush for his faith based approach to foreign policy decisions, especially foreign aid.   

Lowi concluded that there would be several consequences of this foreign policy through a domestic scope. Internationally, the policy will cut down on liberalism (defined by Lowi as tolerance) around the world and it will trigger an emergence of an anti-US balance of power political movement by our own allies. Domestically it has led, and will continue to lead, to a disregard of judicial processes, the military judicial process and restraints in civil rights and liberties. "Don't expect a McCarthy," warns Lowi, "there won't be a need for a front man for interests too embarrassed to speak for themselves," he warns that already political leaders are suppressing disagreement, labeling questioning as un-American.

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