Obama's foreign policy: 'smart power,' realism and cynicism

This article reviews the foreign policy of the Obama administration with a special focus on the Middle East. It shows the gap between the lofty rhetoric of the President, a great orator, and the decisions taken by the Administration. This gap is the inevitable result of the normal play of forces in the decision-making process involving many actors and the interplay of domestic policies and foreign policy. The author argues that if Obama's foreign policy is analyzed in electoral and domestic terms then it is quite wrong to argue, as some have done, that it is dumb. Smart in electoral terms, however, does not necessarily mean smart on the international stage. Keywords Obama * Foreign policy * Middle East * Cairo Speech * Geopolitics * US elections
Political leaders will not take risks if the people do not demand that they do. You must create the change that you want to see. Barack Obama, Jerusalem, March 21, [...]