Obama's Foreign Policy and the Wilsonian Tradition
This paper examines President Obama's foreign policy through the lens of the four major American foreign policy traditions: Wilsonian, Jeffersonian, Jacksonian, and Hamiltonian. It argues that Obama's approach aligns most closely with the Wilsonian tradition, which emphasizes the moral obligation to promote democratic values and the rule of law beyond U.S. borders. The paper illustrates this alignment through three specific foreign policy events: Obama's conciliatory approach toward Russia and Iran, his strategic reorientation from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and his reluctance to pursue military intervention in the Syrian crisis. Together, these cases demonstrate how the liberal, cooperative assumptions underlying Wilsonianism shaped the Obama Administration's conduct of American foreign policy.
- Introduction: Foreign Policy Traditions in U.S. Politics: Foreign policy's central role in U.S. governance
- The Wilsonian School of Thought: Obama's alignment with Wilsonian foreign policy tradition
- Obama's Conciliatory Approach Toward Russia and Iran: Diplomatic concessions as Wilsonian foreign policy
- The Afghanistan and Pakistan Strategy: Reorienting U.S. military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan
- Handling of the Syrian Crisis: Obama's restraint from military action in Syria
- Conclusion: Summary of Wilsonian influence on Obama's policy
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly identifies a central analytical framework—the four schools of American foreign policy thought—and applies it consistently to evaluate a single presidency.
- Each body section introduces a distinct real-world foreign policy event that directly supports the Wilsonian classification, giving the argument concrete grounding.
- The paper balances description with evaluation, briefly acknowledging critics' perspectives (e.g., the "weakness" charge regarding Russia and Iran) before reaffirming the administration's reasoning.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates framework application: it introduces an established scholarly classification system (Mead's four foreign policy traditions) and systematically applies it to historical events. This technique is appropriate for political science writing at the undergraduate level and shows how theory can structure empirical analysis.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a general framing of U.S. foreign policy's political importance, then narrows to Obama's liberal approach and its fit within the Wilsonian tradition. Three parallel body sections each present one supporting case study. The references follow APA formatting. The structure is straightforward and methodical, making it well-suited as a model for short analytical essays in political science or international relations courses.
Introduction: Foreign Policy Traditions in U.S. Politics
Foreign policy is one of the major issues that has played a critical role in the history of the United States. The significance of foreign policy in America's governance system is reflected in the influential role it plays during U.S. presidential elections. Foreign policy has been at the center of American politics, especially in the recent past, because of increased global security concerns. While foreign policy remains a controversial issue in the United States, it is derived from the nation's democratic system. Presidential candidates and policymakers take different foreign policy perspectives, all geared toward safeguarding the interests of the American people. In this regard, United States foreign policy is shaped by different policy traditions, or schools of thought.
The Wilsonian School of Thought
There are four common schools of thought that shape foreign policy in the United States: the Wilsonian, Jeffersonian, Jacksonian, and Hamiltonian traditions. President Obama's foreign policy fell into the Wilsonian tradition, which places emphasis on America's moral obligation to promote democratic values beyond its borders (The Economist, 2001). The Wilsonian school of thought is also based on the belief that a country's national interest is embedded in extending the rule of law across the globe (Mead, 2001). Through his foreign policy ideologies, President Obama focused on extending the rule of law worldwide by promoting America's democratic values. Additionally, he believed that America's national interest was rooted in its extension of the rule of law internationally.
President Obama's foreign policy also aligned with the broader liberal foreign policy tradition, which holds that most countries will cooperate if adequate goodwill and confidence is established between them (Ondrejcsák, 2009). This tradition is evident in Obama's approach when dealing with rogue states considered threats to America's homeland security and global stability. Throughout his presidency, the Obama Administration focused on extending goodwill to such states as a means of promoting America's democratic values and national interests.
References
Ferguson, N. (2016, March 13). Barack Obama's revolution in foreign policy. The Atlantic. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/obama-doctrine-revolution/473481/
Mead, W. R. (2001). Special providence: American foreign policy and how it changed the world. Madison Avenue, NY: Taylor & Francis Group.
Mead, W. R. (2010, January 4). The Carter syndrome. Foreign Policy. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/01/04/the-carter-syndrome/
Ondrejcsák, R. (2009). American foreign and security policy under Barack Obama: Change and continuity. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from http://cenaa.org/analysis/american-foreign-and-security-policy-under-barack-obama-change-and-continuity/
The Economist. (2001). Four threads, one mighty rope. The Economist. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from http://www.economist.com/node/863363
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