Robert G. Kaufman
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813167206
- eISBN:
- 9780813167749
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813167206.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
The main argument is that President Obama’s foreign and national security policy reflects a coherent set of assumptions and premises constituting a Doctrine. The book argues further that the Obama ...
More
The main argument is that President Obama’s foreign and national security policy reflects a coherent set of assumptions and premises constituting a Doctrine. The book argues further that the Obama Doctrine dangerously repudiates the legacy of robust internationalism that has successfully guided American foreign policy since World War II. It argues the Obama Doctrine has made matters significantly worse in the world’s three most important geopolitical regions: Europe; the Middle East, and East Asia. It advocates some version of moral democratic realism, most characteristic of the presidencies of Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush, as the most prudent alternative that is consistent with American ideals and self-interest.Less
The main argument is that President Obama’s foreign and national security policy reflects a coherent set of assumptions and premises constituting a Doctrine. The book argues further that the Obama Doctrine dangerously repudiates the legacy of robust internationalism that has successfully guided American foreign policy since World War II. It argues the Obama Doctrine has made matters significantly worse in the world’s three most important geopolitical regions: Europe; the Middle East, and East Asia. It advocates some version of moral democratic realism, most characteristic of the presidencies of Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush, as the most prudent alternative that is consistent with American ideals and self-interest.
Robert G. Kaufman
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813167206
- eISBN:
- 9780813167749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813167206.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter compares and contrasts the Obama Doctrine with various foreign policy traditions. The Obama Doctrine is in many ways unique, approximating most closely the foreign policy of President ...
More
This chapter compares and contrasts the Obama Doctrine with various foreign policy traditions. The Obama Doctrine is in many ways unique, approximating most closely the foreign policy of President Carter during his first three years in office. The Obama Doctrine stands furthest from the foreign policies characteristic of Truman, Reagan, and George W. Bush. None of the traditional formulations of American foreign policy fully captures President Obama’s unique synthesis. Ironically, the Obama Doctrine is most closely aligned with the outlook of Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who also advocates a substantial devolution of American power and discounts ideology and regime type as key variables for identifying friends and foes.Less
This chapter compares and contrasts the Obama Doctrine with various foreign policy traditions. The Obama Doctrine is in many ways unique, approximating most closely the foreign policy of President Carter during his first three years in office. The Obama Doctrine stands furthest from the foreign policies characteristic of Truman, Reagan, and George W. Bush. None of the traditional formulations of American foreign policy fully captures President Obama’s unique synthesis. Ironically, the Obama Doctrine is most closely aligned with the outlook of Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who also advocates a substantial devolution of American power and discounts ideology and regime type as key variables for identifying friends and foes.
