The controversial nature of Paul Wolfowitz‘s tenure at the World Bank can be traced to a culture of impunity and US exceptionalism that has characterised the Bush administration and dominated the direction of its foreign policy, according to academics and former officials.

Critics agreed with the verdict of the World Bank special panel - set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the pay rise and secondment to the State Department of Mr Wolfowitz’s girlfriend at the bank - that he had “from the outset cast himself in opposition to the established rules of the institution”.

While a minor affair in itself, they said the violations of ethics rules at the bank reflected the willingness of leading Bush administration figures to set aside established rules and procedures – ranging from the Geneva conventions in dealing with prisoners, to carrying out extraordinary renditions and tolerating torture, to electronic eavesdropping...

Janine Wedel, a professor at George Mason University’s school of public policy, says the Bush administration fast earned the reputation of trampling over the rules.

“Wolfowitz, with the neoconservative ethos that American power can reshape the world, is part of this culture. The idea is that our values and our needs and our demands trump everyone else’s, that we can do what we want because we are Americans,” she said.

“Wolfowitz is part of the neoconservative core, with a long record of trying to privatise US foreign policy to carry through its agenda,” commented Ms Wedel, who is writing a book on the “shadow elite” of the networked neoconservatives. “This group often runs rough-shod over established standards and practices...”

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