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

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 Obama’s 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 Obama’s 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 Obama’s 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.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: President Obama and the Foreign Policy Landscape Chapter 1: Structure, Power, and Actors in Foreign Policy Chapter 2: Breaking Away from the International Order: International and Domestic Pressure Points Chapter 3: NATO and Europe: Collective Security, Burden-Sharing, and Russian Resurgence Chapter 4: Asia and the Pacific: A Costly Pivot Chapter 5: The Middle East: A Risky Strategy Chapter 6: Nation-Building at Home and America First

About the Author :
Dr. Chris J. Dolan is professor of politics and global studies at Lebanon Valley College.

Review :
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 analysis is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the emergence of a world order in which the United States is no longer preeminent." — Jacob Mundy, Colgate University "Dolan makes the provocative argument that Trump’s 'America First' foreign policy is not as new or radical as many commentators think, but is actually a continuation (of a sorts) of the Obama administration’s 'nation-building here at home.' According to Dolan, Obama’s foreign policy of retrenchment and offshore balancing was a response to the growing costs of maintaining U.S. hegemony in an increasingly multipolar world. To prove his point, he effectively analyzes Obama’s foreign policy in three separate case studies of U.S. foreign policy toward Europe, the Middle East and China, which are extraordinarily thorough in descriptive and analytical detail, informed by a synthetic blend of both international relations and foreign policymaking theories. Dolan makes a useful contribution to the growing scholarship on the Obama administration. I recommend the book for any course on international relations or U.S. foreign policy." - Mark C. Gentry, Saint Francis University In the highly detailed and timely work Obama and the Emergence of a Multipolar World, Dole presents a comprehensive argument linking international relations and domestic considerations utilizing neoclassical realism, liberal theory and constructivism. The book’s strength lies in doing what manner foreign policy works fail to do, namely providing important linkages between international and domestic forces and showing how they shape policy. In this work, Dole contextualizes Obama’s foreign policy within international power dynamics and domestic policy concerns in an engaging and highly detailed manner using examples from across the globe while at the same time paying attention to influences at home. Theorists of international relations will be familiar with the arguments presented here which are accessible to non-specialists and those with an interest in foreign policy. This book provides readers with a comprehensive and global view of Obama’s foreign policy that is unmatched, it is an important read for anyone who wants to understand American foreign policy and global power in the Obama era and beyond.