Liberal hawk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Template:Short description Template:DMCA The term "liberal hawk" refers to a politically liberal person (generally, in the American sense of the term) who supports a hawkish, interventionist foreign policy.
Overview
Past U.S. presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson have been described as liberal hawks for their roles in bringing about America's status as the world's premier military power. The Clinton Doctrine can also be considered as consistent with this vision. Today the term is most frequently used to describe liberals who supported or still support the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, which was authorized by the United States Congress and ordered by president George W. Bush. The invasion was controversial among all political sides. In December 2002, American liberals were conflicted over whether or not going to war in Iraq was the correct decision; some felt that they should support the war, in accordance with their philosophy of liberal internationalism, i.e. support of military intervention.[1]
One document cited as promoting a liberal hawkish point of view is Progressive Internationalism: A Democratic National Security Strategy, published by the Progressive Policy Institute in October 2003.[2] Another document related to the stance is a letter to President Bush sent by Social Democrats USA in February 2003, which urged the military overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime.[3]
In January 2004, Paul Berman, Thomas Friedman, Christopher Hitchens, George Packer, Kenneth Pollack, Jacob Weisberg, Fareed Zakaria, and Fred Kaplan participated in a five-day online forum, Liberal Hawks Reconsider the Iraq War, in which they discussed whether they had been correct in advocating for military action against Saddam Hussein's regime. Kaplan by that point had renounced his prior support, but the general consensus among the participants was that, despite the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the war had still been justified on humanitarian grounds.
Political scientists argue that liberals tend to be hawkish to counter criticism and accusations by conservatives of being "soft" and having a tendency of appeasing foreign adversaries. Others argue that they are driven by Wilsonian idealism to reshape the world in their image.
During the late 2000s and 2010s, numerous analysts identified former President Barack Obama as a liberal hawk, especially regarding his handling of the war on terror.[4]
Opposition to the Sunshine Policy
The Sunshine Policy is the dovish foreign policy with North Korea of South Korean liberals, in which President Donald Trump has also expressed support,[5] but the Washington establishment consisting of liberals and conservatives alike oppose their policy and support a more hawkish stance toward North Korea,[6] creating a conflict with South Korean liberals.[7]
Despite being a liberal, President Barack Obama opposed the Sunshine Policy and preferred a more hawkish foreign policy of "strategic patience".[8]
The hostile diplomatic approach towards North Korea has made South Korea liberals prefer Donald Trump diplomatically, who is more transactional in nature in his dealings with North Korea. However, South Korean conservatives, who are more pro-American support the liberal hawks approach. In the 2020 United States presidential election, Hong Joon-pyo, known as a "Korean Trumpist",[9] supported Joe Biden.[10] Former president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, dubbed the "K-Trump" in South Korean media, defended President Joe Biden's policy toward North Korea and opposing the new Sunshine Policy approach of Donald Trump and South Korean liberals. In contrast, South Korean liberals Moon Chung-in and Kim Ou-joon supported Donald Trump's Sunshine Policy.[7][11]
Notable people
The list includes people who have been described as liberal hawks.
Politicians
- Barack Obama – former U.S. President (2009-2017)[13][14]
- Hillary Clinton – former First Lady of the United States, former U.S. Senator from New York, former US Secretary of State, 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee[15][16][17]
- Michael Bloomberg – former New York City Mayor (2002-2013)[18][19][20][21]
- Lloyd Bentsen – former U.S. Representative from Texas (1948-1955), former U.S. Senator from Texas (1971-1993), former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1993-1994)[22][23]
- Howard Berman – former U.S. Representative from California[24]
- Elissa Slotkin – current U.S. Senator from Michigan, former U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs[25]
- Joe Biden - former U.S. Senator from Delaware (1973-2009), former U.S. Vice President (2009-2017), former U.S. President (2021-2025)[26]
- Tony Blair – former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom[27][28]
- Ben Cardin – former U.S. Senator from Maryland, former U.S. Representative from Maryland[29]
- Joe Donnelly – former U.S. Representative and senator from Indiana[30]
- Eliot Engel – former U.S. Representative from New York[31]
- John Fetterman – U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania[32][33]
- Lois Frankel – U.S. Representative from Florida, former Mayor of West Palm Beach[34][35]
- Al Gore – former U.S. Senator from Tennessee, former Vice President of the United States, 2000 Democratic presidential nominee[36]
- Josh Gottheimer – U.S. Representative from New Jersey[37]
- Jane Harman – former U.S. Representative from California[38]
- Michael Ignatieff – former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, former professor at Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy[39]
- Henry "Scoop" Jackson – United States Senator who represented Washington State from 1953 to 1983[40][41]
- Joe Lieberman – former U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, 2004 Democratic presidential candidate[42][43][44]
- Tzipi Livni – former vice prime minister of Israel, founder of the Hatnuah party, Foreign Minister, Justice Minister and Leader of the Opposition.[45]
- Tom Malinowski - former U.S. Representative from New Jersey[46]
- Bob Menendez – former U.S. Senator from New Jersey, former U.S. Representative from New Jersey[47][48]
- Sam Nunn – former U.S. Senator from Georgia (1972-1997)[49][50]
- Brad Sherman – U.S. Representative from California [51]
- Kyrsten Sinema – former U.S. Senator from Arizona, former U.S. Representative from Arizona[52]
- Haley Stevens – U.S. Representative from Michigan [53][54]
Government officials
- Jake Sullivan – former U.S. National Security Advisor[55][56]
- Madeleine Albright – former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, former U.S. Secretary of State[57]
- Zbigniew Brzezinski – former National Security Advisor, political scientist[58][59][60]
- Amos Hochstein – former Biden administration advisor and Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
- Brett McGurk – former Biden administration advisor and former United States National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa[61]
- Kenneth Pollack – former Clinton administration advisor and senior fellow at The Brookings Institution[2]
- Samantha Power – former United States Ambassador to the United Nations [62]
- Dennis Ross[63]
- Susan Rice[64][65]
- Michael McFaul – former United States Ambassador to Russia[66][67]
- Richard Holbrooke – former United States Ambassador to the United Nations[68]
- Anne-Marie Slaughter – Former Director of Policy Planning Staff of the United States[69]
- James Woolsey – former United States Under Secretary of the Navy [70][71]
Other
- Ronald D. Asmus – scholar at the German Marshall Fund of the United States[2]
- Paul Berman – contributing editor to Dissent and The New Republic (described as a 'Philosopher King' of liberal hawks)[2]
- Jonathan Chait – self-described liberal hawk[72]
- Larry Diamond – senior fellow at the Hoover Institution[2]
- Thomas Friedman[73]
- Christopher Hitchens – British-American journalist, essayist, critic and writer[74]
- Fred Kaplan
- Bill Keller
- Bill Maher
- George Packer
- Simon Schama
- Michael Tomasky – Editor of Guardian America[2]
- Jacob Weisberg
- Leon Wieseltier[75]
- Fareed Zakaria[73]
- Anne Applebaum[76]
- Sam Harris
- Van Jones
- Bernard-Henri Lévy
- Garry Kasparov
Institutions and publications
- Atlantic Council
- Brookings Institution
- Center for a New American Security
- Center for American Progress
- The Atlantic
See also
- NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
- 2011 military intervention in Libya
- United States support for Israel in the Gaza war
- Coalition for a Democratic Majority
- Cold War liberal
- Democracy promotion
- Liberal Imperialists
- Liberal internationalism
- Globalization
- Interventionism (politics)
- Neoconservatism
- Neoliberalism
- United States militarism
References
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- ^ a b c d e f Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Liberal Hawk Down". The Nation. October 7, 2004. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
- ^ Letter to President Bush sent by Social Democrats USA Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jakes, Lara (February 10, 2013). "Liberal in domestic issues, Obama a hawk on war". Arab News.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.""트럼프, 미국판 '햇볕정책' 보여줘...4차회담은 8~9월"" [Donald Trump supports the American version 'Sunshine policy'. The fourth round of talks will take place in August or September.]. 노컷뉴스. July 1, 2019. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Bruce Cumings hopes Trump's lack of ties to Washington establishment offers solution for Korean Peninsula". The Hankyoreh. June 17, 2018. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."문정인 "바이든이 미 대통령 되면 북한 문제 풀기 어려워"" [Moon Chung-in said, "If Biden [not Trump] becomes the U.S. president, it will be difficult to solve the North Korean problem".]. 동아일보. July 3, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ Park Byoung-chul, Joo In-suck ed. (2016). The North Korean Policy of the Obama Administration and Korea-America Relationship: Change and Perspective. Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.
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Nicknamed "Hong Trump," he has been compared to the US President in the past for his outspoken, sometimes offensive campaigning style
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."홍준표 "위장평화쇼 트럼프 시대 저물어…문재인 정권 심판받을 차례"" [Hong Joon-pyo said, "The era of Trump based on the camouflage peace show is over. Therefore, the Moon Jae-in regime [who was diplomatically friendly to Trump when Trump supported pro-North Korea foreign policy] will be judged".]. 머니투데이. November 6, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."김어준 "바이든 찍으면 미북 정상회담 못 봐" 황당방송" [Kim Ou-joon said, "If [Americans] vote Biden, [Korean] can't see the North Korea–United States summit", it is absurd remark broadcasting.]. 조선일보. August 8, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."How Hillary Clinton Became a Hawk". The New York Times. April 24, 2016.
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Berman – A Hawk 20 Years in the Making". Los Angeles Times. March 7, 2003.
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Once a Hawk, Brzezinski Sees Hope for U.S.-Russia Relations". Politico Magazine. November 27, 2015.
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Real Rice". The New Republic.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beinart, Peter (January 29, 2024). "Why do America's liberal hawks attack Russia while giving Israel a free pass?". The Guardian.
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Holbrooke: Iraq Will Be a Major UN Issue for Bush Administration". United States Diplomatic Mission to Italy. January 11, 2001. Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Friedersdorf, Conor (July 29, 2014). "Did Libya Prove War Hawks Right or Wrong?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Indyk, Martin (2009). Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East. Simon and Schuster. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-4165-9429-1.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Halberstam, David (2002). War in a Time of Peace. Simon and Schuster. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0-7432-1824-8.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Chait, Jonathan (March 17, 2010). "The Yoke's On You, Krauthammer". The New Republic.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Malone, Noreen (May 14, 2021). "Why So Many Liberals Supported Invading Iraq". Slate.
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, George (December 8, 2002). "The Liberal Quandary Over Iraq". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beinart, Peter (January 29, 2024). "Why do America's liberal hawks attack Russia while giving Israel a free pass?". The Guardian.
External links
- Progressive Internationalism: A Democratic National Security Strategy
- Slate: Liberal Hawks Reconsider the Iraq War
- Bush’s Useful Idiots, Tony Judt, London Review of Books, 21 September 2006
