On missing out on „the real George W. Bush“: Die Radikalisierung der Republikaner und die Polarisierung der Politik nach 9/11

Abstract

Abstract This essay imagines the contemporary American political landscape without the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and their consequences in order to gauge the impact of “9/11” on domestic politics. It suggests that the current political polarization among American voters and within the American party system, which ultimately enabled the election of Donald Trump, would not be that extreme had it not been for the Bush administration’s War on Terror at home and abroad. As the essay outlines, the erosion of the justice system, the US’s disregard for international human rights, and the curbing of citizens’ rights that marked the immediate post-9/11 era led directly to the political polarization, even radicalization, that we witness today. Inversely, this essay speculates that had it not been for 9/11, George W. Bush could have been a moderate conservative force, bridging the chasm between the American right and left, and rallying the nation behind the cause of fighting poverty – the “real George W. Bush” might have had a chance, and the United States as well as the Republican party would look different today.