Barack Obama and US Foreign Policy - Assignment Example

The Performance Of President Barak Obama's Administration With Focus On Foreign Policy From The Perspective Of A Proponent Ideology (Liberalism) The United States foreign policy has undergone significant progression and developments over time. During the cold war years, the authority of the presidency was chief in the making of the United States foreign policy, and the economy of America controlled the world economy. Many changes have however occurred around the world, and in the American society, consequently affecting the administration of the United States foreign policy. The United States foreign policy has deep significance for the lives of Americans and others worldwide in so many ways. 1Americans may not be aware of the substantial effects that the United States foreign policy has on their daily lives because it is so indirect. The American standard of living for example is deeply affected by the state of the economy, and the role of America in the global economy. This is in turn impacted by foreign economic policies which involve investment in companies and capital, trade in goods and services, access to raw materials and energy, and monetary policies and currencies fluctuations. Today, the American economy is more elemental to and dependent upon the international political economy. Besides security, economics, freedom, individual health and individual livelihood, there are other considerable areas of foreign policy that impact Americans. Examples are immigration and population dynamics, tourism, travel, the spread of HIV/AIDS, drug trade, deforestation, global warming and environmental protection. The United States foreign policy is therefore involved in countless activities and affairs that have immediate and direct, as well as indirect and underlying implications on daily and future lives of Americans. President Barrack Obama was not the first United States democratic presidential candidate to base his campaigns on changing the image of America to the rest of the world. Long before Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, he had made it clear that the highlight of his foreign policy would be changing the American image abroad. In fact, he contested for presidency on a policy of change in both domestic and foreign policy. 2“During his victory speech on the evening of November 4, 2008, President-Elect Barack Obama used the moment to remind the world the image of the United States will undergo a dramatic transformation under his administration.”The foreign policy approach that has emerged during Obama’s tenure as president aligns closely with the liberal internationalist concept to foreign policy. A liberal internationalist approach is based on several core beliefs and values, about the interests and aims of foreign policy actions, for different nations and for the United States in specific. Essential domestic values, such as development of individual freedoms and democracies are perceived as significant ways to build a balanced, and amicable international order. 3Liberal internationalism also “calls for promoting international cooperation and interdependence in a variety of ways as a means to knit states and people today in a web of interdependence to address common problems and reduce the risk of conflict.” 4President Barrack Obama’s administration has not only had to handle war on terrorism and the effects of Iraq war, it also took office at a time when the International and American political economy were rocking at the threshold of breakdown. The first priority of President Barack Obama’s administration was to prevent the economic situation of America from deteriorating further, and possibly collapsing into a greater depression. This was done in part by attempting to rebuild confidence of foreign markets which had been lost during the 2008 economic crisis. According to Rosati and Scott, 5“the Obama administration emphasized the need for Keynesian governmental spending and involvement as the primary source for calming the markets, restoring confidence and increasing the likelihood of an economic recovery-in a very pragmatic and experimental way.” The United States could not address the problem on its own given that it had spread globally, so it emphasized the need for joint action through international financial institutions and the G-20 nations. On top of the critically needed concentration on foreign economic policy, President Obama’s administration had to deal with several issues of national security, acquired from prior administrations. The administration made huge efforts to remove American troops from Iraq war and hand over the war to the Iraqis, while increasing troops in Afghanistan and operations in Pakistan, to stabilize the then deteriorating conditions in those nations. Additionally, many other concerns such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran, North Korea, Nuclear proliferation, global warming, immigration, the future of Russia and oil dependency needed to be addressed. At the same time, there were numerous debates and divisions on propositions of the proper uses, nature, and balance among foreign tools along aid, diplomacy and force. 6“The Obama administration has been very active (with president Obama himself travelling extensively abroad) in order to restore confidence in United States leadership and promote the likelihood of multilateral responses in attempting to react to and address such global problems.” In its goal of creating a world without nuclear weapons, President Barack Obama administration described a sequence of steps to achieve this. He did this by effectuating the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia, renewing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act, and introducing a new international procedure to protect all exposed nuclear material around the world. Although a nuclear free world may not be fully achieved during President Obama’s administration, it is certainly going to be achieved in the future. Obama renewed America’s relations with Russia, terming it as prolonged effort among the Russian and American people to recognize common interests, and increase dialogue and cooperation, paving way for progress. President Obama also called for a new beginning based on mutual respect, and mutual interest between the United States and Muslims. This is contrary to the cold reception that Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush had with the community of Muslims. 7Relations between the United States government, and both the American and International Muslim communities reached a low point by the end of the Bush presidency. In addition, Obama recognized the contributions made by Muslims to the United States, and called for a renewal of relationships between Muslim communities, and the United States. Generally, as an important part of his administration, President Obama has made public acceptance to Muslims in the United States, and the rest of the world. The foreign policy approach of President Obama’s administration was summarized in May 2010 during the National Social Security Strategy. 8The Obama administration declared a strategic approach based on “(1) the need to rebuild the American economy as the basis for strong global leadership, (2) a commitment to living American values at home in order to credibly promote them abroad and, (3) a commitment to reshaping the international system in a way that it will enable the global community to address the challenges of the twenty-first century.” Obama’s administration emphasis on global freedom promotes greater food security, a new global health initiative, and responses to humanitarian crisis worldwide. To bring about international order, the national security strategy statement urges for account of American priorities and actions. According to the new international order, the United States will maintain its security relations with established associates in Asia, North America, and Europe by establishing joint associations with China, Russia and India, who are the centers of influence in the twenty-first century. The United States will also expand ties with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and South Africa, which are the G-20 nations. 9The United States will also work to “strengthen the United Nations, devolve some responsibility for collective action to a variety of international institutions, and invest in strengthening the capacity of regional organizations across the globe, as a way to enhance worldwide security.” The approach of President Barack Obama’s administration is large, thorough and purposeful, and to a large extent, very different from the approach of Bush administration. The approach of Obama’s administration has led to a powerful change in the direction of foreign policy in America. 10In terms of realigning the United States with the International community, Obama’s administration has changed from the bush administration. Significant foreign policy speeches have been made by the President across continents, in a bid to reach out to countries worldwide, and revise the image of America. President Obama has enrolled principal world leaders in mutual diplomatic summits, and a number of joint forums. Under his administration, many special envoys have been appointed to address global concerns. The United States has also developed the use of both local and international organizations, to achieve its foreign policy objectives. The popularity of Barack Obama worldwide has affected the image of America. 11“In Pew Research Center polls in 2009 and 2010 across twenty-five and twenty-two countries, the United States favorability rating improved considerably in majority of the surveyed nations.” Western European countries such as France, Britain, Spain and Germany had the greatest improvements while Asia, Africa and Latin America followed. However, in most Muslim countries, there has been no change in attitude towards the United States. Majority of them express little confidence on President Obama and the United States in general. Despite these views, the perception of the United States on the global stage is clear that President Obama has improved these perceptions. The Obama administration also called for policy adjustment in the inclusion of domestic values, in the administration of the American foreign policy. According to President Obama, the United States did not need to jeopardize its values in implementing its foreign policy. 12He argued that it will be hard to keep the United States safe unless the power of American fundamental values is employed. With this he was referring to actions taken by President Bush administration, towards treating suspected terrorists in insinuated violation of domestic and international principles. After being elected President, Obama changed some actions that were present during Bush administration. The first action was an executive order to close prisons overseas by the Central Intelligence Agency, and eliminating specific methods of interrogation used in handling terrorism suspects. The second executive order by President Barack Obama was a command to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within a year, while the third action was the establishment of a special interagency task force, to determine lawful options for the execution of individuals arrested in connection with counterterrorism operations, and armed conflicts. In spite of these orders, the Obama administration has been only somewhat effective in executing a change in policy. The Obama administration has also continuously supported democratic reform efforts in various nations. The most recent one was in Libya where the Obama administration made efforts together with the opposition forces, to end Moammar Gadhafi’s forty year rule as president of Libya. In its global financial reform initiative, Obama’s administration has a goal of creating vibrant financial systems, by regulating banking regulations, and a number of investment tools used worldwide. A global framework is already in place to standardize global banking reserve, and capital requirements. However, the implementation of the framework begins in 2013. The climate change policy under Obama’s administration is quite different from that of Bush administration. A number of basic steps have been taken in the United States, with the hope of steering international environmental change. It is clear that the Obama administration has priorities for the American foreign policy, with focus on creating joint responses to international concerns, setting examples of good values both through actions and words, and adapting to ideological and cultural differences. It has not only been confronted by the usual run of frustrations, constraints and reversals, but also by a rising collection of changing dynamics within the domain of foreign policy politics. Although his administration has not been successful in the initiatives of global financial reform, nuclear proliferation, and climate change, there is still a lot of hope that all these will gradually be achieved. Bibliography Davis, John. Barack Obama & Us Foreign Policy: Road Map for Change or Disaster? Bloomington: Author House, 2009. Rosati, Jerel A. and James M. Scott. The Politics of United States Foreign Policy. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Routledge Research in American Politics and Governance. Religion, Race, and Barack Obama's New Democratic Pluralism. Edited by Gastón Espinosa. New York: Routledge, 2012. Transforming America: Barack Obama in the White House. Edited by Steven E. Schier Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2011. Read More