Hurricane damage has s along the Gulf Coast have confronted the Bush administration with its greatest challenge, at least domestically. How significantly will such domestic the storms and their aftermath issues affect the president’s second-term foreign policy? in his second term? It is hard to say, but being more vulnerable politically is rarely a good thing. Even more to the point, for an administration prone to rely on a limited number of senior officials, given its distrust of mid-level bureaucrats, the need to manage the political fallout from Hurricane Katrina may leave little time for other pressing problems. anything else. And yet, the Bush foreign policy in the second term has taken on a very different character. from that of his first four years.

The most striking change If there is one unmistakable difference in its foreign policy, it is the level of energy that now characterises American efforts. US foreign policy. Condoleezza Rice, as secretary of state, has adopted a far more activist approach to dealing with America’s foreign policy challenges and the rest of the world. Unlike than her predecessor, Colin Secretary Powell. Unlike Mr Powell, she has travelled extensively. She is not adverse to using the telephone does not eschew the use of the phone, but seems to appreciate not just the private impact of face-to-face meetings, but also the public relations the also benefit of going to other capitals and reaching out to local communities. and reaching out to local publics.