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2018 | Buch

“The World Views” of Barack Obama Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

The World Views of the Obama Era

From Hope to Disillusionment

herausgegeben von: Dr. Matthias Maass

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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Über dieses Buch

This book presents selected non-US views of the Barack Obama administration. Each chapter investigates eight years of the Obama presidency from a different national perspective. By bringing together fourteen country studies from all regions of the world, this volume offers an accumulative global view of the Obama White House’s foreign policies and bilateral affairs. It provides an outside perspective on a presidency that was initially greeted with much enthusiasm world-wide, but seemed to fall out of favor over time in most countries. The overwhelming hope that was associated with the election of Obama in 2008 turned to disillusionment world-wide; the changes in US external affairs he promised were only partially fulfilled and the world was reminded that America’s place and role in the world would not change dramatically, not even under the inspirational Obama.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. “The World Views” of Barack Obama
Abstract
In late 2008, the US chose Barack Obama as its 44th president and, as I observed then, “[t]he world approved” (Maass, The World Views of the U.S. Presidential Election: 2008. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). This current volume is the analytical “bookend” to the previous cooperative study. Then, the task was to capture the world views on the US presidential election. The claim was that the US-American election was indeed a global election in the sense that it was watched and evaluated across the world. Its anticipated effects globally made it in fact a global event.
Matthias Maass
Chapter 2. The Barack Obama Presidency: Cuba
Abstract
The joint US–Cuba announcement of 2014 was a surprise to most, but had been a long time coming. Obama’s philosophy was clear from the start of the process: He was willing to take the first step. And the focus of this eminently political step would be primarily economic. For Raul Castro and most Cubans, it was a historic step because it rewarded Havana what it long had wanted from the North: respect. That was due to the person of Barack Obama. However, whereas many observers looked at the historic nature of the improvement in ties, both Obama and Castro had the future very much in mind. Looking ahead, Cuba needs to get its legislation right in order to encourage foreign investment, while for the US the two outstanding issues are lifting the trade embargo and returning the Guantanamo Naval Base. But Obama laid a solid basis for future ties.
Michael Eleazar Parmly
Chapter 3. Nigeria: Views from the Hegemon in West Africa on the Obama Administration
Abstract
Nigeria has been a steadfast ally of the US even throughout the country’s 29 years of military rule and certainly following its transition to democraticy. Despite Nigeria’s size, regional importance, and political standing, some Nigerian presidents, diplomats, politicians, journalists, and citizens view the relations with the US as uneven and condescending. They had trusted that the election of Barack Obama, whose father is Kenyan, would usher in a new era of improved and balanced Nigeria–US relations. This did not come to fruition. Instead, the language of advising Nigeria about the rule of law, good governance, anti-corruption, and cooperation in America’s fight against terrorism remained. This chapter examines Nigerians’ perceptions of the Obama administration during the administrations of Umaru Yar’Adu, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammad Buhari to determine if these perceptions remained consistent or were there changes with each administration.
Cassandra Veney
Chapter 4. Obama Delivers for Kenya: On Business
Abstract
Initially, it seemed as though President Obama was chiefly concerned about how to improve Kenya’s governance standards. Misunderstandings about the US’s true intentions shaped relations between Kenya and the US in Obama’s first term. Later, Obama’s long-term legacy project for Africa emerged and matters of security and economic growth took precedence. This chapter makes two broad arguments about Obama’s legacy in Kenya. First, in the short term, President Obama was instrumental in reviving Kenya–US economic relations. Second, Obama’s long-term legacy will be defined by the success or failure of his signature legacy project in Africa, the Power Africa Initiative. Beyond this, Obama will be remembered for shifting the ideational and financial foundations of US–Kenya relations from the humanitarianism exemplified by PEPFAR to a more productive sector minded model where US grants are directed to vitalizing business and entrepreneurship.
Elijah Nyaga Munyi
Chapter 5. Egypt and Obama: Turbulent Times, Bouncy Relations
Abstract
Under the leadership of Barack Obama, Egyptian–US relations have experienced an acute crisis, unseen in many decades. This chapter argues that the US-espoused values of liberty, democracy and human rights had frequently come into the way of Washington’s pursuit of a purely realist and pragmatic foreign policy. This irreconcilable conflict between interests and values poisoned US–Egyptian ties at two defining moments in Egypt’s recent history—January 2011 and July 2013—when the US stance was perceived by Cairo as unfavorable at best, plainly hostile at worst. At these two moments, Cairo’s ruling elite saw everything through the parochial perspective of this raison d’état. There was little room for compromise or maneuver. US–Egyptian relations, as a result, got strained. Members of Egypt’s ruling elite breathed a sigh of relief when President Barack Obama left the White House in January 2017.
Nael Shama
Chapter 6. A Bilan of Eight Obama Years: Between Bush and Trump
Abstract
This chapter first captures the pulse of France’s media reaction to President Obama over the years giving the sense of the “Obamania” that started the Obama mandate in 2008. It goes on to discuss the Obama Doctrine, which sets the philosophical and theoretical frame for Obama’s responses and actions on all his major foreign policy highs and lows with its transnational ally, France. Obama’s grand strategy showed a combination of continuity and change from his predecessor, George Bush. During Obama’s tenure, there was never a break in the harmony of values between the two countries. None of the bilateral differences took away from the essence of cordial and supportive Franco-American relations. The chapter concludes that despite the ups and downs, President Obama is still a favorite in France and Europe. What the future holds under President Trump for Franco-American transatlantic ties is still in flux.
Ruchi Anand
Chapter 7. Russia’s View on Obama’s Presidency: From Hope to Disappointment
Abstract
During Obama’s presidency the Russian–American relations changed dramatically, from the reset to the worst crises since the end of the Cold War. All the factors that influence the process of mutual perception became unambiguously negative. This forms the basis for the “war of images” that is one of the main characteristics of the current crisis. Russia has been experiencing the highest level of anti-Americanism since the end of the Cold War. The main purpose of this chapter is to address these issues on the base of the social constructivist approach which gives us an opportunity for better understanding of the role of the American “other” in the contemporary Russian identity discourse. At the center of the authors’ analysis, which relies on expert and academic publications, political and journalistic texts, as well as visual images of Obama in Russia, are both the reality of politics and the process of image construction.
Ivan Kurilla, Victoria I. Zhuravleva
Chapter 8. Turkish Perceptions of Turkey–US Relations During Obama’s Presidency: Dialectics of Expectations/Partnership and Disappointments/Estrangement
Abstract
This chapter explores how Turkish perceptions of the US and bilateral relations during the two terms of the Obama administration were molded in relation to certain issues of contention. The primary focus is on the Turkish government’s policymaking, conceptions of and approach to its relations with the US. In addition, the Turkish public’s reactions and understandings of the US during the Obama administration are explored. The chapter contends that throughout Obama’s two terms there has been a shift in Turkish perceptions of Turkey–US relations. High hopes and expectations of both the political elites and the general public gave way to disillusionment and a major split in matters of utmost importance to Turkey. Overall, the Obama period did not produce a dramatic change in general Turkish perceptions of the US, and Turkish perceptions of bilateral relations continue to be defined through a security lens, as has been all along.
Müge Kınacıoğlu, Aylin G. Gürzel Aka
Chapter 9. Israeli View of the Obama Era: A Relationship Reexamined
Abstract
The Obama era symbolized an unprecedented downward spiral in US–Israeli relations. In the short term, one can attribute the deterioration to the difficult, at times impossible, relationship between Obama and Netanyahu, who shared different political worldviews. Washington and Jerusalem clashed over the Israeli–Palestinian peace process and what to do with Iran’s nuclear program. However, these tensions did not appear to have had any impact on the US’s commitment to Israeli security or on its view of Israel as an important strategic ally. In the long run, however, the Obama era signals a shift in US demographics that is likely to have electoral consequences in the future. As a result, the “special” relationship may be “special” no more as changing public attitudes afford the US the freedom of political action to distance itself from, and at time even collide with, Israeli policies as Obama had done.
Ronnie Olesker
Chapter 10. Obama’s Legacy: The View from Persia
Abstract
This chapter explores various Iranian views on Obama’s foreign policy and analyzes how Obama’s initiatives on foreign policy impacted bilateral relationships between Washington and Tehran. In many areas, the relationship between these two countries did not change over Obama’s eight years in office. Obama’s policies and initiatives did not alter Tehran’s foreign policy or its efforts to be a regional power. Nor did Obama fundamentally change the situation of human rights in the country. President Obama did soften the language and approach to Tehran. His decision to abandon George W Bush’s confrontational language (Axis of Evil) may have contributed to an improved climate that allowed the nuclear talks to make progress. However, aside from the nuclear agreement—which should not be underestimated—much of the bilateral relationship between Washington and Tehran remained the same.
Barbara Ann Rieffer-Flanagan
Chapter 11. Chinese Views of US Foreign Policy under the Obama Administration
Abstract
The Chinese narrative around concepts of “China’s Rise,” the “US Decline,” and the “Power Shift,” and the assumption that China will have preeminence over its neighborhood in East Asia have absorbed the attention of Chinese scholars and policymakers for two decades. Although the Power Shift is yet to fully emerge, it is deeply embedded in the Chinese consciousness. If China’s rise has not progressed as had been hoped, it is often blamed on US efforts at containment. The Obama administration will be remembered in China for its rebalance to Asia policy. This chapter will examine how Chinese perceived and debated the US rebalance to Asia. Chinese needed to reconcile the US rebalance with the enduring Chinese belief in the Power Shift.
Gaye Christoffersen
Chapter 12. South Korea’s Perceptions of Obama’s Foreign Policy Toward Northeast Asia
Abstract
The alliance between the US and the Republic of Korea (ROK) achieved and maintained a high point of solidity during Barack Obama’s terms. The two countries’ cooperation on trade, security, human rights, and other issues advanced on the back of shared strategic interests, military cooperation, diplomacy, commerce, and mutual understanding between the respective governments and broader populations. Moreover, Obama’s charm and charisma made him personally popular in the ROK. Yet this “Obama premium” papered over an inability during his mandate to resolve heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula in particular and East Asia in general. Obama’s “strategic patience” vis-à-vis North Korea failed to stop Pyongyang’s advances in its nuclear weapons program. Obama’s “rebalancing” toward East Asia was more than a slogan, but nonetheless failed to contribute much to solving the region’s problems.
Mason Richey
Chapter 13. The Obama Era: The View from Indonesia
Abstract
US President Barack Obama’s election was watched particularly closely in Indonesia, where Obama had spent formative years of his childhood. For some scholars and policymakers, the election of the first US-Indonesian president in Washington, combined with a government in Jakarta interested in boosting Indonesia’s regional and global influence, offered a rare chance to transcend lingering and fundamentally transform the bilateral relationship.
Obama’s two terms proved that accomplishing this was a much more difficult goal than was initially forecast. Indonesian public and elite opinion were both characterized by what one might call “sustained ambivalence” during the Obama era: with some increased confidence in America’s image and regional presence; but lingering uncertainty about its policies in the region and its future geopolitical position. And even as the Obama administration did advance the bilateral relationship in many ways, familiar challenges—from history to policy implementation—continued to limit its success.
Prashanth Parameswaran
Chapter 14. Obama and the United States–Pakistan Marriage of Convenience
Abstract
Despite lofty expectations, United States–Pakistan relations worsened during the Obama administration. This souring of the relationship was brought about principally by Pakistan’s position as a frontline state in the US Global War on Terrorism. While that status helped Pakistan obtain substantial US aid during the Obama administration, it also came with frequent US violations of Pakistani sovereignty. The critical year of 2011 saw the near rupture in United States–Pakistan ties. While both Washington and Islamabad ultimately needed one another, considerable distrust continued for the remainder of the Obama administration. That distrust was amplified by the continued improvement in United States–India relations. And an effort to improve United States–Pakistan relations through a large multiyear commitment of US foreign aid failed to overcome elite disagreements as well as popular disapproval in Pakistan. Ultimately, US efforts to cultivate a positive image in Pakistan were insufficient to overcome a long history of mutual mistrust.
Christopher Clary, Niloufer Siddiqui
Chapter 15. India’s Views of the Obama Era: Maturing Defense Partners but Reluctant Asia-Pacific Friends
Abstract
The India-US relationship is one of the most important emerging relations on the Asian continent and is currently undergoing a dynamic evolution as a result of the Chinese hyperactivity in the South China Sea, as well as India’s own border disputes with China on the one hand, and Washington’s active pursuit of India to participate in the US-led security order in Asia on the other. Although the U.S-India relationship under the Obama administration had been successful in building strong defense and security relations, the cooperation over American rebalance to the Asia-Pacific lagged behind. This failure stemmed from American inability to fully convince New Delhi of Washington’s commitment to the pivot to Asia strategy. Although the United States sought to forge a greater understanding over its Asian strategy with India, it was still unable to convince New Delhi of the American commitment to the pivot to Asia strategy.
Shivaji Kumar
Chapter 16. The Obama Era in the Eyes of the World: From High Hopes Back to Normalcy
Abstract
The candidacy of Barack Obama created high hopes and major expectations overseas. His electoral victory in 2008 promised the return of a benevolent US. He being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was the ultimate expression of the world’s anticipation. Such high expectations had to be disappointed, and they were. However, it is remarkable that Obama frustrated many but maintained his overall popularity worldwide until the end of his two four-year terms. The disillusionment, disappointment, and frustration over Obama’s foreign policy and global leadership remained largely sympathetic. It was, in a way, a “benevolent disappointment” which characterizes the world views of the Obama era.
Matthias Maass
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
The World Views of the Obama Era
herausgegeben von
Dr. Matthias Maass
Copyright-Jahr
2018
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-61076-4
Print ISBN
978-3-319-61075-7
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61076-4

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