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Utilitarian Multilateralism: The Implications of 11 September 2001 for US Foreign Policy

Document Cited in Related
AuthorFraser Cameron
Published date01 May 2002
Date01 May 2002
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.00161
© Political Studies Association, 2002.
Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA
Utilitarian Multilateralism:
The Implications of 11 September
2001 for US Foreign Policy
Fraser Cameron
European Commission1
The 11 September terrorist attacks have led the United States to reassess its foreign policy. The
overwhelming priority is the defeat of terrorism and to further this end the United States is
prepared to engage with states, regardless of their democratic credentials, willing and able to help
the United States on the terrorist front. There is little sign, however, that the new-found interest
in promoting multilateral co-operation to deal with terrorism is spilling over into other policy
areas. The United States shows no sign of modifying its opposition to a number of international
treaties and agreements – such as Kyoto, CTBT or the ICC – all of which its closest allies support.
The US approach may be described as ‘utilitarian multilateralism’.
Introduction
The US view of the world changed dramatically on 11 September 2001, the day
Americans and the rest of the world watched with horror as two hijacked planes
crashed into the New York World Trade Center, killing several thousand people.2
There had been a number of voices predicting such a terrorist attack on the United
States. In 1999, the US Commission on National Security in the 21st Century stated
that ‘America will become increasingly vulnerable to hostile attack on our home-
land, and our military superiority will not protect us. Americans will likely die on
American soil, possibly in large numbers.’3
There was considerable speculation in the weeks following the attacks, and espe-
cially in light of the unprecedented international coalition that the United States
established to combat terrorism, that the Bush administration would move from
its previous preference for unilateralism in foreign policy to a multilateralist
approach. By the end of 2001, however, there was little sign that the new-found
interest in a multilateral approach to defeating terrorism was spilling over into
other areas. The United States gave no indication of seeking to join the interna-
tional consensus on climate change (Kyoto), the international criminal court (ICC)
or a number of other arms control treaties and agreements that its closest allies
had signed.
This approach to foreign policy might best be described as ‘utilitarian multilateral-
ism’, a system in which the United States views itself as the key player but is not
prepared to seek compromises with other global players, particularly when it con-
siders that important national interests are at stake. It prefers operating on its own
or creating ‘coalitions of the willing’ rather than working through multilateral
institutions to promote its foreign policy goals. The Bush administration makes
POLITICS: 2002 VOL 22(2), 68–75

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