Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations

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A little over a year ago, I wrote an essay for this page that outlined some of the multitudinous foreign policy challenges that would face Barack Obama’s administration when it took office on 20 January 2009 (“Of Mice, Men, and Presidents,” December 2008).  During the past twelve months, the president and his national security team have addressed many of these issues, including the decision on how to manage the conflict in Afghanistan, the steps to take in the on-going effort to redeem the country’s tarnished international image, and how to confront the seemingly omnipresent threat of terrorist activity.  In accepting his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in December 2009, Obama admitted that “compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize…my accomplishments are slight.”  Was he correct — at least in terms of his progress to date?  How should observers assess Obama’s foreign policy performance during his first year in office? Read more…

Posted in Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, George W. Bush administration: 2001-2008, Iraq War: 2003-present, Op-Eds, Post-9/11: 2001-present, Roundtable | No Comments »

It is the nature of the political process that presidents campaign outside history and must then live within it. For Barack Obama, this meant promising a speedy withdrawal from Iraq, a stronger focus on defeating Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, firm but respectful relations with Russia and China, engagement with opponents like Iran, and progress with our best collaborators on the economy and environment. All this was practicable to the extent he could count upon Congress, the American public, foreign governments, global bankers, and international terrorists for steady help. Read more…

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As Barack Obama completes his first year in office, he faces challenges that will test his considerable political skills to the very limit. While many voted for Obama because was able to project an image of calm competence that was notably lacking in both John McCain and George W. Bush, the Wall Street crisis and popular disaffection with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had created a demand for change that benefited Obama. His election was due to his promise that he would chart a new direction for America. His tenure thus far has offered some insights into his political style, the difficulties that confront America, and the gaps between his campaign rhetoric and actual accomplishments. Read more…

Posted in Afghanistan, Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Brazil, China, Early Cold War: 1945-1961, George H. W. Bush administration: 1989-1993, India, Indonesia, Jimmy Carter administration: 1977-1981, Late Cold War: 1961-1991, Op-Eds, Post-9/11: 2001-present, Roundtable, South Africa | No Comments »

I’m eight months older than President Barack Obama, so we fall into the same generation.  Of course, the similarities end there, including his ascent to a slightly higher administrative level than I will ever reach.  Still, we share some things in common because we gained an awareness of the world around the same time, in the late 1970s, and began to reach some sort of political maturity during the Reagan years.  I imagine we voted the same way (and like me, he probably asked whether he’d ever help elect a Democrat to the White House), we cringed at preemptive foreign policy (having been taught that Vietnam was such a disastrous error) but questioned whether Carter-style human rights diplomacy worked (and learned that idealistic enthusiasm was simply uncool), and we weighed the pros and cons of globalization and the rise of China.  Like others, we sighed in uneasy relief as the hostages came home from Iran, backed divestment in South Africa, yawned as communism collapsed, and danced the night away when Bill Clinton was elected.  But I’m not entirely happy with him because he hasn’t heeded some lessons of our past.  I give him a B (yes, both of us are professors) as a grade for his first-year’s agenda abroad. Read more…

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Historians, of all people, should understand the dangers of prematurely evaluating a President’s foreign policy record. Quite apart from all that we learn as archives open, the passage of time provides perspective. To take an obvious example: while few contemporary observers would celebrate it now, at the time, Ronald Reagan’s approach to Afghanistan was heralded as a major success. Read more…

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Barack Obama’s run for the presidency was observed by European publics perhaps more than any US election in recent history. Students, for whom the presidency of Bill Clinton was barely a memory and little more than a footnote introducing the Bush era, debated the relative merits of a Clinton or Obama nomination largely in terms of who could most ably win in November 2008. The desire for change was palpable and, it can be argued, unprecedented. Obama’s brand of internationalism certainly captured the imaginations of Europeans, while his positivist position on such matters as healthcare reform reminded them of the progressive tradition of much of American politics. This was primarily the anti-Bush election, however, the election that promised to reverse the trend of unilateralism that had dominated American foreign policy during the first years of the 21st century, and which served to alienate faith in America’s world leadership. Obama’s embrace of diplomacy and his emphasis on law and on American ideals in the pursuit of security promised a sea-change in America’s approach to the world, but the extent to which such change can be realized remains unclear. Read more…

Posted in Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Bill Clinton administartion: 1993-2001, Congress, Culture and international relations, Environmental Concerns, Europe, European Union, Imperialism/Colonization, International Organizations, Iran, Iraq, Iraq War: 2003-present, Israel, Late Cold War: 1961-1991, Op-Eds, Post-9/11: 2001-present, Presidency, Roundtable, State Department, Western Europe | No Comments »

It is, of course, still too early after one year to evaluate the foreign policy or the presidency of Barack Obama.  That said preliminary analysis illuminates both the best and the worst about American culture and the foreign policy that flows from it. Read more…

Posted in Afghanistan, Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, China, Europe, George W. Bush administration: 2001-2008, Iraq, Op-Eds, Pakistan, Post-9/11: 2001-present, Roundtable, Russia | No Comments »