Bending History Barack Obama's Foreign Policy

by Indyk, Martin S.; Lieberthal, Kenneth G.; O'Hanlon, Michael E.

• ISBN13: 9780815721826
• ISBN10: 081572182X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-03-06
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Summary

How well has Barack Obama carried out his duties as U.S. commander-in-chief, top diplomat, and grand strategist? He has been unable to change the climate of Washington, and economic difficulties have dominated the first two years of his presidency. But his larger success or failure will likely hinge as much on foreign policy. In Bending History?a trio of renowned foreign policy experts illuminates the grand promise and the great contradictions of a new president who has captured the attention and imagination of citizens around the world like few of his White House predecessors. Conflicting caricatures of Obama miss the mark. The Right largely believes he is a naïve apologist trying to quash "American exceptionalism," or at best trying too hard to meet the demands of his Democratic Party. Conversely, while many on the Left still see him as a transformational political figure, the great antidote to George Bush's unilateralist militarism, others believe he is an accommodationist who lacks the nerve to end the excesses of Bush antiterror policies. Not surprisingly, Obama is substantially more complicated and nuanced than any of these images allows. Bending History?argues that Obama thus far has, above all, been a foreign policy pragmatist, tackling one issue at a time in a thoughtful way. On balance he has been competent and solid, choosing reasonable policies (or least-worst options, at least) with an approach typified by thoroughness, reasonably good teamwork, and flexibility when needed. The seasoned authors aim to present the first serious book-length appraisal of Obama's foreign policy. They are Martin Indyk, a diplomat with great experience in the volatile region that has seen almost unimaginable political change in 2011 (the Middle East); Kenneth Lieberthal, an oft-quoted authority on the historic rise and political economy of China; and Michael O'Hanlon, an accomplished analyst of national security policy, particularly the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With fairness and sophistication, the authors blend their own expertise with access to major military and diplomatic players at top levels of the administration. They find little strategic coherence in a foreign policy that is notable mostly for its individual initiatives rather than unifying themes, despite what the persona of Barack Obama himself represents symbolically and rhetorically.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Emerging Power: China	p. 24
War, Counterterrorism, and Homeland Protection	p. 70
Middle East Peacemaking	p. 112
The Arab Awakenings	p. 141
The Rogue States	p. 185
The "Soft Security" Agenda: Energy, Climate, and Weak States	p. 229
The Arc of History Is Long	p. 258
Notes	p. 287
Index	p. 331
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