To remain competitive the Republicans need to expand their appeal beyond their 2012 voter base, particularly in order to capture votes from women, young people and the Latino population.
As Barack Obama prepares to enter a second term Fawaz Gerges assesses his first term in relation to the Middle East, examining the major themes and historical constraints of Obama’s foreign policy.
Although it is assumed that individual leaders create and implement their own foreign policies, foreign policy is not nearly as leader-centric as observers tend to believe.
Aside from reforms to foreign assistance, Africans should not anticipate any major shifts. US policy toward the region is driven by strategic priorities and limited by financial constraints—factors that would change little if Romney took office.
In a Romney administration few prominent realists would likely gain top decision-making posts. While erstwhile hawks, nationalists and neocons who do make it into positions of influence will likely be ‘captured by reality’.
The complicated confluence of humanitarian intervention and geo-political considerations require the Obama Administration to articulate and implement consistent, well thought through principles and values in Syria.
US intervention in the Arab world is still predicated on the same foundations that determined the courses of US foreign policy during the Cold War. With the Arab Spring, US intervention is likely to continue and expand.
Obama’s successes have come when he has followed the policies of the Bush administration. His failures have come when he has attempted to implement his own initiatives.
The Obama administration must understand that an Israeli military operation against Iran is liable to drag the United States into the battlefield against its will.
Those wishing to understand the limitations of American power and how difficult the foreign policy-making process will be in an age of austerity should consult this first draft of history.
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