The Reluctant Realism of George H. W. Bush
Tim Naftali, Director, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
April 2, 2008 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm, LBJ Library Brown Room, 10th Floor
Tim Naftali discussed his new book, George H. W. Bush: The 41st President, 1989-1993, about President Bush’s foreign policy. Dr. Naftali argued that among the political elite of that time, President Bush was the person best prepared for the challenges of the immediate Post-Cold War era. Using two major foreign policy occurrences – the reunification of Germany and the Gulf War – Naftali emphasized such qualities in President Bush’s leadership and decision-making style as patience, prudence, political wisdom and sensitivity. According to Naftali, these qualities were critical for conducting a successful foreign policy at a time when the global system of international relations was undergoing deep transformations.
Dr. Naftali is the director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, part of the National Archives and Records Administration. Before joining the National Archives, he taught history at several universities, including the University of Virginia, where he also served as director of the Presidential Recordings Program at the Miller Center of Public Affairs.
Tim Naftali addresses the audience in the Brown Room.
Tim Naftali.
Attentive audience members during Tim Naftali's remarks.
This presentation is part of the Strauss Center’s International Security Speaker Series. The series features leading scholars and policy practitioners discussing what needs to be done to meet the security challenges of the modern world.
The Strauss Center is nonpartisan and takes no institutional position on any issue. All statements of fact and all expressions of opinion at Center events are the sole responsibility of the speaker.
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