Unexpected Affinities? Neoconservatism's Place in IR Theory

After Liberalism?

“…Similarly, neoconservatism contains little notion of ideas being used to co-opt potential adversaries in the form of "soft power" (Kagan, 2002). So while neoconservatism understands that ideas matter on the domestic front, and that regime and individual identity are co-constituted, the claim that neoconservatism represents "a systemic constructivist account of IR" is surely wrong (Rapport, 2008). Neoconservatism, like realism, claims that anarchy is always "Hobbesian" unless a hegemon can enforce its preferred order; Europe's Kantian "geopolitical fantasy" would not continue were the United States to withdraw its protection (Kagan, 2003: 57;.…”

“…Several realists have rightly avoided conflating liberalism and neoconservatism, and instead emphasise the latter's emergence as a reaction to American liberalism (Rapport, 2008;Williams, 2005Williams, , 2007. Neoconservatism's origins lie as much in an "ambivalent attitude towards liberal modernisation and the socio-cultural forces that the latter sets forth", as in an enthusiastic resistance to Soviet communism (Drolet, 2007: 248).…”

Taking God Seriously: The Struggle against Extremism

“…Neoconservatives are thus defenders of democracies where they are threatened by illiberal ideologies or political movements, supporters of the spread of democracy worldwide and enemies of authoritarian regimes. 20 The second pillar of neoconservatism distinguishes it from liberal interventionism: the advocacy of American hegemony and a willingness to rely solely on American military power to bring about democratic transformation abroad -"Wilsonianism with teeth," as John Mearsheimer has called it. 21 This is due to neoconservatism's belief in American exceptionalism, which conveys a moral responsibility to use the U.S. position as the world's superpower to export its inherent moral virtue to other countries, through the use of force and regime change if necessary.…”

Neoconservatism as discourse: Virtue, power and US foreign policy

“…Others engage with neoconservatism through IR theory, arguing that neoconservatism is a counter-discourse to the ‘pathologies of modern liberalism’ (Williams, 2005: 312), which is believed to have abandoned republican virtue and degenerated into moral nihilism and multicultural relativism (Homolar-Riechmann, 2009: 182; Owens, 2007: 271–272). Meanwhile, it is also suggested that neoconservatism represents a counterpoint to realist, amoral discourses of power politics (Rapport, 2008: 278). Examining the theoretical foundations of neoconservatism helps both to expose its links with and divergence from existing IR theories and to account for its unique approach to the place of virtue in foreign policy (Williams, 2005).…”