Download or read book Bending History written by Martin S. Indyk and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2013-09-04 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the time of Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th president of the United States, he had already developed an ambitious foreign policy vision. By his own account, he sought to bend the arc of history toward greater justice, freedom, and peace; within a year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, largely for that promise. In Bending History, Martin Indyk, Kenneth Lieberthal, and Michael O’Hanlon measure Obama not only against the record of his predecessors and the immediate challenges of the day, but also against his own soaring rhetoric and inspiring goals. Bending History assesses the considerable accomplishments as well as the failures and seeks to explain what has happened. Obama's best work has been on major and pressing foreign policy challenges—counterterrorism policy, including the daring raid that eliminated Osama bin Laden; the "reset" with Russia; managing the increasingly significant relationship with China; and handling the rogue states of Iran and North Korea. Policy on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however, has reflected serious flaws in both strategy and execution. Afghanistan policy has been plagued by inconsistent messaging and teamwork. On important "softer" security issues—from energy and climate policy to problems in Africa and Mexico—the record is mixed. As for his early aspiration to reshape the international order, according greater roles and responsibilities to rising powers, Obama's efforts have been well-conceived but of limited effectiveness. On issues of secondary importance, Obama has been disciplined in avoiding fruitless disputes (as with Chavez in Venezuela and Castro in Cuba) and insisting that others take the lead (as with Qaddafi in Libya). Notwithstanding several missteps, he has generally managed well the complex challenges of the Arab awakenings, striving to strike the right balance between U.S. values and interests. The authors see Obama's foreign policy to date as a triumph of discipline and realism over ideology. He has been neither the transformative beacon his devotees have wanted, nor the weak apologist for America that his critics allege. They conclude that his grand strategy for promoting American interests in a tumultuous world may only now be emerging, and may yet be curtailed by conflict with Iran. Most of all, they argue that he or his successor will have to embrace U.S. economic renewal as the core foreign policy and national security challenge of the future.

Download or read book New Directions in US Foreign Policy written by Inderjeet Parmar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-06-19 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text is a state of the art overview of US foreign policy. The book provides a comprehensive account of the latest theoretical perspectives, the key actors and issues, and new policy directions.

Download or read book Barack Obama s Post American Foreign Policy written by Robert Singh and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After one of the most controversial and divisive periods in the history of American foreign policy under President George W. Bush, the Obama administration was expected to make changes for the better in US relations with the wider world. Now, international problems confronting Obama appear more intractable, and there seems to be a marked continuity in policies between Obama and his predecessor. Robert Singh argues that Obama's approach of 'strategic engagement' was appropriate for a new era of constrained internationalism, but it has yielded modest results. Obama's search for the pragmatic middle has cost him political support at home and abroad, whilst failing to make decisive gains. Singh suggests by calibrating his foreign policies to the emergence of a 'post-American'world, the president has yet to preside over a renaissance of US global leadership. Ironically,Obama's policies have instead hastened the arrival of a post-American world.

Download or read book Limited Achievements written by Z. Laïdi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-08-16 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through an analysis of the general principles of Obama's foreign policy, LaIdi shows how Obama has charted a realist course in the Middle East, in Europe, in diplomacy, and in war.

Download or read book The Obama Doctrine written by Michelle Bentley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-28 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: President Obama’s first term in office was subject to intense criticism; not only did many feel that he had failed to live up to his leadership potential, but that he had actually continued the foreign policy framework of the George W. Bush era he was supposed to have abandoned. This edited volume examines whether these issues of continuity have been equally as prevalent during the president’s second term as his first. Is Obama still acting within the foreign policy shadow of Bush, or has he been able to establish his own approach towards international affairs, distinct from his predecessor? Within this context, the volume also addresses the idea of legacy and whether Obama has succeeded in establishing his own distinct foreign policy doctrine. In addressing these questions, the chapters explore continuity and change from a range of perspectives in International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis, which are broadly representative of a spectrum of theoretical positions. With contributions from a range of US foreign policy experts, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of US foreign policy, Foreign Policy Analysis and American politics.

Download or read book US Foreign Policy and Democracy Promotion written by Michael Cox and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The promotion of democracy by the United States became highly controversial during the presidency of George W. Bush. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were widely perceived as failed attempts at enforced democratization, sufficient that Barack Obama has felt compelled to downplay the rhetoric of democracy and freedom in his foreign-policy. This collection seeks to establish whether a democracy promotion tradition exists, or ever existed, in US foreign policy, and how far Obama and his predecessors conformed to or repudiated it. For more than a century at least, American presidents have been driven by deep historical and ideological forces to conceive US foreign policy in part through the lens of democracy promotion. Debating how far democratic aspirations have been realized in actual foreign policies, this book draws together concise studies from many of the leading academic experts in the field to evaluate whether or not these efforts were successful in promoting democratization abroad. They clash over whether democracy promotion is an appropriate goal of US foreign policy and whether America has gained anything from it. Offering an important contribution to the field, this work is essential reading for all students and scholars of US foreign policy, American politics and international relations.

Download or read book Obama and the World written by Inderjeet Parmar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-16 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This significantly revised, updated and extended second edition of New Directions in US Foreign Policy retains the strongest aspects of its original structure but adds a comprehensive account of the latest theoretical perspectives, the key actors and issues, and new policy directions. Offering a detailed and systematic outline of the field, this text: Explains how international relations theories such as realism, liberalism and constructivism can help us to interpret US foreign policy under President Obama Examines the key influential actors shaping foreign policy, from political parties and think tanks to religious groups and public opinion Explores the most important new policy directions under the Obama administration from the Arab Spring and the rise of China to African policy and multilateralism Supplies succinct presentation of relevant case material, and provides recommendations for further reading and web sources for pursuing future research. Written by a distinguished line-up of contributors actively engaged in original research on the topics covered, and featuring twelve brand new chapters, this text provides a unique platform for rigorous debate over the contentious issues that surround US foreign policy. This wide-ranging text is essential reading for all students and scholars of US foreign policy.

Download or read book Obama s Foreign Policy written by Michelle Bentley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proposed work– as well as looking at particular policy areas – will take a more expansive approach that takes into account alternative issues such as the construction of emotion, affect, rhetoric, as well as theoretical issues such as US decline. It also presents these arguments within the context of specific theoretical frameworks, which is an approach that is not replicated anywhere else in the literature. The concepts of continuity/change discussed in other studies are highly general. Frequently, these studies look at continuity as a trend that goes back across a range of past presidencies, typically going back as far as Ronald Reagan. In contrast, this publication looks specifically at continuity as a relationship between Presidents Bush and Obama, especially in the wake of 9/11. This is a much more expansive discussion of the Obama presidency than is currently available within this topic. The proposed volume will address the entire term, offering scholars and interested readers a detailed discussion of the Obama presidency throughout the duration of his first term in office.

Download or read book US Foreign Policy and Global Standing in the 21st Century written by Efraim Inbar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-01-13 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines US foreign policy and global standing in the 21st Century. The United States is the most powerful actor in world politics today. Against this backdrop, the present volume examines how the foreign policies pursued by Presidents’ George W. Bush and Barack Obama have affected elite and public perceptions of the United States. By examining America’s standing from the perspective of different actors from across various regions, including China, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East, while also assessing how these perceptions interact with America’s own policies, this books presents a fresh interpretation of America’s global standing. In doing so, the volume evaluates how these perceptions affect the realities of US power, and what impact this has on moulding US foreign policy and the policies of other global powers. A number of books address the question of which grand strategy the United States should adopt and the issue of whether or not America is in relative decline as a world power. However, the debate on these issues has largely been set against the policies of the Bush administration. By contrast, this volume argues that while Obama has raised the popularity of America since the low reached by Bush, America’s credibility and overall standing have actually been damaged further under President Obama. This book will be of much interest to students of US foreign policy, US national security, strategic studies, Middle Eastern politics, international relations and security studies generally.

Download or read book After Obama written by Robert Singh and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-09 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After Obama examines how and why US influence has contributed to the erosion of the world America made, endangering international order and liberal values. As a relatively short book, it would be attractive for advanced undergraduate courses and graduate seminars on US foreign policy, international relations, foreign policy analysis, and history/diplomatic history.

Download or read book Obama and the Middle East written by Fawaz A. Gerges and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2012-05-22 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hard-hitting assessment of Obama's current foreign policy and a sweeping look at the future of the Middle East The 2011 Arab Spring upended the status quo in the Middle East and poses new challenges for the United States. Here, Fawaz Gerges, one of the world's top Middle East scholars, delivers a full picture of US relations with the region. He reaches back to the post-World War II era to explain the issues that have challenged the Obama administration and examines the president's responses, from his negotiations with Israel and Palestine to his drawdown from Afghanistan and withdrawal from Iraq. Evaluating the president's engagement with the Arab Spring, his decision to order the death of Osama bin Laden, his intervention in Libya, his relations with Iran, and other key policy matters, Gerges highlights what must change in order to improve US outcomes in the region. Gerges' conclusion is sobering: the United States is near the end of its moment in the Middle East. The cynically realist policy it has employed since World War II-continued by the Obama administration--is at the root of current bitterness and mistrust, and it is time to remake American foreign policy.

Download or read book Obama s Foreign Policy written by Michelle Bentley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume is an innovative analysis of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, security and counter-terrorism policy, specifically within the context of ending the now infamous War on Terror. The book adopts a comparative approach, analysing change and continuity in US foreign policy during Obama’s first term in office vis-à-vis the foreign policy of the War on Terror, initiated by George W. Bush following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Despite being heralded as an agent of change, since his election in 2008 Obama has faced criticism that his foreign policy is effectively the same as what went before and that the War on Terror is still alive and well. Far from delivering wholesale change, Obama has been accused of replicating and even reinforcing the approach, language and policies that many anticipated he would reject. With contributions from a range of US foreign policy experts, this volume analyses the extent to which these criticisms of continuity are correct, identifying how the failure to end the War on Terror is manifest and explaining the reasons that have made enacting change in foreign policy so difficult. In addressing these issues, contributions to this volume will discuss continuity and change from a range of perspectives in International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. This work will be of great interest to students and scholars of US foreign policy, security studies and American politics.

Download or read book U S Foreign Policy written by Steven W. Hook and published by CQ Press. This book was released on 2015-12-08 with total page 884 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The same aspects of American government and society that propelled the United States to global primacy have also hampered its orderly and successful conduct of foreign policy. This paradox challenges U.S. leaders to overcome threats to America's world power in the face of fast-moving global developments and political upheavals at home. The fully updated Fifth Edition of Steven W. Hook’s U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power explores this paradox, identifies its key sources and manifestations, and considers its future implications as it asks whether U.S. foreign policymakers can manage these dynamics in a manner that preserves U.S. primacy.

Download or read book Obama and China s Rise written by Jeffrey A. Bader and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2012-02-24 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Future presidents will need to find the right balance in China policy, so as to maintain America's strength and watchfulness but not fall into the classic security dilemma, wherein each side believes that growing capabilities reflect hostile intent and responds by producing that reality. I believe that President Obama struck that balance." —From Obama and China's Rise In 2005, veteran diplomat and Asia analyst Jeffrey Bader met for the first time with the then-junior U.S. senator from Illinois. When Barack Obama entered the White House a few years later, Bader was named the senior director for East Asian affairs on the National Security Council, becoming one of a handful of advisers responsible for formulating and implementing the administration's policy regarding that key region. For obvious reasons—a booming economy, expanding military power, and increasing influence over the region—the looming impact of a rising China dominated their efforts. Obama's original intent was to extend U.S. influence and presence in East Asia, which he felt had been neglected by a Bush administration fixated on the Middle East, particularly Iraq, and the war on terror. China's rise, particularly its military buildup, was heightening anxiety among its neighbors, including key U.S. allies Japan and South Korea. Bader explains the administration's efforts to develop stable relations with China while improving relationships with key partners worried about Beijing's new assertiveness. In Obama and China's Rise, Bader reveals what he did, discusses what he saw, and interprets what it meant—first during the Obama campaign, and then for the administration. The result is an illuminating backstage view of the formulation and execution of American foreign policy as well as a candid assessment of both. Bader combines insightful and authoritative foreign policy analysis with a revealing and humanizing narrative of his own personal journey.

Download or read book A Companion to U S Foreign Relations written by Christopher R. W. Dietrich and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-03-04 with total page 1518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the entire range of the history of U.S. foreign relations from the colonial period to the beginning of the 21st century. A Companion to U.S. Foreign Relations is an authoritative guide to past and present scholarship on the history of American diplomacy and foreign relations from its seventeenth century origins to the modern day. This two-volume reference work presents a collection of historiographical essays by prominent scholars. The essays explore three centuries of America’s global interactions and the ways U.S. foreign policies have been analyzed and interpreted over time. Scholars offer fresh perspectives on the history of U.S. foreign relations; analyze the causes, influences, and consequences of major foreign policy decisions; and address contemporary debates surrounding the practice of American power. The Companion covers a wide variety of methodologies, integrating political, military, economic, social and cultural history to explore the ideas and events that shaped U.S. diplomacy and foreign relations and continue to influence national identity. The essays discuss topics such as the links between U.S. foreign relations and the study of ideology, race, gender, and religion; Native American history, expansion, and imperialism; industrialization and modernization; domestic and international politics; and the United States’ role in decolonization, globalization, and the Cold War. A comprehensive approach to understanding the history, influences, and drivers of U.S. foreign relation, this indispensable resource: Examines significant foreign policy events and their subsequent interpretations Places key figures and policies in their historical, national, and international contexts Provides background on recent and current debates in U.S. foreign policy Explores the historiography and primary sources for each topic Covers the development of diverse themes and methodologies in histories of U.S. foreign policy Offering scholars, teachers, and students unmatched chronological breadth and analytical depth, A Companion to U.S. Foreign Relations: Colonial Era to the Present is an important contribution to scholarship on the history of America’s interactions with the world.

Download or read book Obama US Foreign Policy and the Dilemmas of Intervention written by D. Fitzgerald and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-10-03 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely study analyses the ways in which competing ideologies and cultural narratives have influenced the Obama administration's decision-making on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, situating these decisions within the broader history of American foreign policy.

Download or read book U S Foreign Policy in the 21st Century written by Tobi Remsch and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2013-02-04 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - Region: USA, grade: 1,3, University of Potsdam (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät), course: Introduction to American Poltics, language: English, abstract: 10 years ago, almost to the day, terrorists hijacked 4 four planes, flying two of them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. The fourth airliner came down in rural Pennsylvania, when travelers tried to regain control of the cockpit. Almost 3000 people lost their lives in the attacks on September 11, 2001, when the Islamist group al-Qaeda put an early end to what seemed like the beginning of an era of unprecedented peace and security for the United States of America. After the breakup of the Soviet Empire and the end of the Cold War, the USA has emerged as the world’s lone superpower, with no rival state possessing sufficient military, economic or technological strength to impose a serious threat on them. American foreign policy, whose focal point had been the containment of Soviet power for over 40 years, became less important and the public interest focused on domestic issues. How did the end of the Cold War era and the terrorist threat affect American Foreign Policy? Three years after the election of Barack Obama, this paper aims at contrasting the administrations of both the American presidents of the 21st century in regard to their foreign policy making on the one hand, and the consequent transatlantic relations on the other. What are the specific characteristics of Bush’s and Obama’s approach to foreign policy problems? What are the differences and similarities? In what way have both presidents shaped the relations to international organisations as well as their allies in Europe?