Domestic Policy Discourse in the US and the UK in the 'New World Order'

Book excerpt: With the end of the Cold War, many commentators expected a renewed emphasis on domestic policy as a result of this major change in foreign policy. Until the attacks of 11 September 2001, this is exactly what happened. The “new world order” in domestic terms, celebrated the triumph of capitalism and free markets. At this time, Milton Friedman’s economic ideas were all the rage and Keynes completely out of fashion. The economic problems of the 1970s, in combination with the manifest failure of communist economies, had largely discredited the traditional notion of the Left and party rhetoric reflected this. Both the Democrats and Labour had begun in the 1980s (faced with the success of Reagan and Thatcher) a process of redefinition: people talked of “New Democrats” and “New Labour”. During the campaign of 1992, Clinton insisted on the need for a “modern, mainstream agenda” and used key terms often associated with conservatism like “expansion of opportunity”, “choice”, “responsibility” and “reinventing government”. Labour, especially after Tony Blair became leader in 1994, followed the same path. Both the Conservatives and the Republicans had pushed to the right in the late 1970s and continued this trend in the following years. Although their electoral fortunes varied, they increasingly found themselves divided between moderate and more rightwing members. In Britain this division focused on Europe while, in the US, it usually concerned social and ethical questions. By 2010, the Conservatives had attained some cohesion under David Cameron but, the Republicans were openly feuding. This book’s originality lies in its scope, in its comparative aspect, and its inclusion of first person accounts as well as scholarly studies. In particular, the book includes one of the first major analyses of the health care debate from Clinton’s failed attempt to the conclusion of Obama’s successful one. Highly up to date and topical, it also discusses discourse related to the recent economic crisis, the so-called “Climategate” scandal, the UK elections of 2010, the gay rights debates in the US, “Islamophobia”, and the Arizona immigration law.