John Kerry in the context of "Joseph Nye"

George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office after defeating the Democratic incumbent vice president Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. Four years later, he won re-election in the 2004 presidential election, after defeating the Democratic nominee John Kerry. Alongside Bush's presidency, the Republican Party also held their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate during the 108th and 109th U.S. Congresses following the 2002 and 2004 elections, thereby attained an overall federal government trifecta. Bush was constitutionally limited to two terms and was succeeded by Democrat Barack Obama, who won the 2008 presidential election against Bush's preferred succcessor, John McCain. He is the eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush.

A decisive event reshaping Bush's administration were the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. In its aftermath, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security and Bush declared a global war on terrorism. He ordered an invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to overthrow the Taliban, destroy al-Qaeda, and capture Osama bin Laden. He also signed the controversial Patriot Act in order to authorize surveillance of suspected terrorists. In 2003, Bush ordered an invasion of Iraq, alleging that the Saddam Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction. Intense criticism came when neither WMD stockpiles nor evidence of an operational relationship with al-Qaeda were found. Before 9/11, Bush had pushed through a $1.3 trillion tax cut program and the No Child Left Behind Act, a major education bill. He also pushed for socially conservative efforts, such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and faith-based welfare initiatives. Also in 2003, he signed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, which created Medicare Part D.

The Ukrainian anti-protest laws were a group of ten laws restricting freedom of speech and freedom of assembly passed by the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) on January 16, 2014 (referred to as Black Thursday by its opponents) and signed into law by President Viktor Yanukovych the following day, amid massive anti-government protests known as “Euromaidan” that started in November. The laws were collectively referred to as the "laws on dictatorship" (Ukrainian: закони про диктатуру, romanized: zakony pro dyktaturu, Russian: зако́ны о диктату́ре, romanized: zakony o diktature), by Euromaidan activists, non-governmental organizations, scholars, and the Ukrainian media.

In the aftermath of their passing, Western nations criticised the laws for their undemocratic nature and their ability to significantly curb the rights to protest, free speech and the activity of non-governmental organisations. They were described in the media and by experts as "draconian", with Timothy Snyder claiming that they effectively established the nation as a dictatorship. The laws were widely denounced internationally, with US Secretary of State John Kerry describing them as "anti-democratic".

In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state. It may also refer to an international agreement that supplements or amends a treaty.A protocol is a rule which describes how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines. Protocols specify the proper and generally accepted behavior in matters of state and diplomacy, such as showing appropriate respect to a head of state, ranking diplomats in chronological order of their accreditation at court, and so on. One definition is:

The Forbes family is one of the components of the Boston Brahmins—a wealthy extended American family long prominent in Boston, Massachusetts. The family's fortune originates from trading opium and tea between North America and China in the 19th century plus other investments in the same period. The name descends from Scottish immigrants and can be traced back to Sir John de Forbes in Scotland in the 12th century. Family members include businessman John Murray Forbes (1813–1898), part of the first generation who accumulated wealth, and politician John Forbes Kerry (born 1943).

Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican president George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent vice president Dick Cheney, were elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated the Democratic ticket of Massachusetts senator John Kerry and North Carolina senator John Edwards.

Bush and Cheney were renominated by their party with no difficulty. Meanwhile, the Democrats engaged in a competitive primary. Kerry emerged as the early front-runner but was faced with serious opposition by former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who briefly surged ahead of Kerry in the polls. Kerry won the first set of primaries in January and re-emerged as the front-runner, and Dean dropped out in February. Kerry clinched his party's nomination in March after a series of primary victories over runner-up Edwards, whom he ultimately selected to be his running mate.

Elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004, during the early years of the war on terror and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Republican President George W. Bush won re-election and Republicans retained control of Congress.

Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won his party's nomination after defeating Senator John Edwards and several other candidates in the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries. In the general election, Bush won 286 of the 538 electoral votes and 50.7 percent of the popular vote. Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the war on terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.