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2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

5. Obama’s Grand Strategy: Between Off-Shore Balancing and the ‘Pivot to Asia’

Author : Zeno Leoni

Published in: American Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to unpack Barack Obama’s foreign policy. It shows that Obama was not remarkably alternative to capitalism and the US ruling class establishment. Nonetheless, his global and regional worldviews have produced some discontinuities compared to the Bush and Trump administrations. In particular, the chapter lays several connected arguments. Obama, contrarily to the opinion of many observers, conducted a coherent grand strategy. This entailed a review of US strategic priorities based on a changing world order. The result was an off-shore balancing approach where pragmatism and diplomacy were preferred to democracy promotion and heavy military interventions. The practical effect of this approach was twofold. On the one hand, Obama sought to diminish the US commitment in the Middle East and Europe. On the other hand, he focused more on the Asia-Pacific with a comprehensive hedging strategy toward China that conflated military, economic, and diplomatic policies.

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previous chapter A Post-American Geopolitical World Order: Uneven Development and the Shifting Balance of Power
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Metadata
Title
Obama’s Grand Strategy: Between Off-Shore Balancing and the ‘Pivot to Asia’
Author
Zeno Leoni
Copyright Year
2021
Book
American Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-54741-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-54742-4

Copyright Year: 2021

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54742-4_5