Obama and the Emergence of a Multipolar World Order: Redefining U.S. Foreign Policy [Hardcover]

This book argues that critical international and domestic crises, such as the U.S. war in Iraq and the Great Recession, forced President Barack Obama to readjust U.S. foreign policy after over 70 years of American hegemony and defending the global status quo. It examines the range of external pressures and challenges brought on by an increasingly multipolar international system, shifting domestic political forces, and limited foreign policy choices. The book provides an overview of the extent of foreign policy change and continuity in Obamas foreign policy toward Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East. The book assesses domestic and international pressure points in the wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the Great Recession that shaped and defined Obamas foreign policy preferences. The war in Iraq and the Great Recession, in addition to rising economic inequality and hyper-partisanship at home, emerging markets in Asia and the rise of China, and Russian resurgence in Europe and the Middle East, would determine and constrain the extent to which Obama was able to lead U.S. foreign policy and the foreign policymaking process. These ultimately contributed to a more scaled-back and limited U.S. role in the world during Obamas presidency, culminating in the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump who promised to turn the U.S. away from globalization and questioned longstanding U.S. alliances. In the end, the theme of nation-building here at home under Obama gave way to America First under Trump.Dr. Chris J. Dolan is professor of politics and global studies at Lebanon Valley College.

In clear and judicious prose, Chris Dolan expertly situates the highly contested foreign policies of the Obama administration in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, one that US officials have struggled to grasp as much as scholars and the public at large. While the motives and legacies of Obama's policies will be debated for years to come, Dolan's sober anlӷ