8 - US Foreign Policy under President Barack Obama and the Promotion of Multilateralism and the Rule of Law
Corresponding Author(s) : André Mbata Mangu
Africa Development,
Vol. 38 No. 1-2 (2013): Africa Development
Abstract
Five years ago, in November 2008, Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th US president. Senator Obama’s campaign message had been ‘change’, ‘change we need’, and ‘change we should believe in’. In this post-Cold War era, the US is the only remaining superpower and the American president the world’s most influential leader. Accordingly, despite the fact that non-Americans do not participate in an American presidential election, they are nevertheless interested in its outcome given the leading role that the US plays in shaping international relations, for better or worse. This article does not explore US politics. Nor does it revisit the political economy of imperialism let alone the dependency discourse. It rather reflects on American foreign policy against the background of the promises that Senator Obama made in his book, The Audacity of Hope and later during the campaign. It is based on the hopes that his election raised in the ‘world beyond the American borders’ and aims to pave the way for a critical but fair assessment of US foreign policy under President Obama.
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- Conrad, J., 1999, Au Coeur des Tenèbres, Paris: Edition Mille et Une Nuit.
- Dugard, J., 2000, International Law: A South African Perspective, 2nd Ed, Johannesburg: Juta & Co.
- Gutto, S.B.O., 2009, ‘Projecting Change and Continuity under the Obama Administration’, Keynote Address at the US-Africa Policy Forum organised by Africa Action in collaboration with Howard University African Studies Department, Howard University, Washington D.C., 19 February.
- Jackson, R.H., 1990, Quasi-States: Sovereignty, International System, and the Third World, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
- Mangu, A.M.B., 2011, Obama’s election: Lessons from the world, Africa, and US foreign Policy, Saarbrucken: Lambert Academic Publishing.
- Mangu, A.M.B., 2012, Barack Obama et les défis du changement global, Paris: L’Harmattan.
- Médard, J-F., 1977, ‘L’Etat sous-développé au Cameroun’, Année Africaine, 1977, 35-84.
- Migdal, J., 1988, Strong Societies and Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Mwihaki, J., 2009, ‘Obama, Local Hero: Obama Special’, Msafiri, Edition No. 66, Kenya Airways, February-April, 54-60.
- Nzongola-Ntalaja, G., 1998, From Zaïre to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nordiska Africainstitutet.
- Obama, B., 2008, The Audacity of Hope. Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, New York: Vintage Books, 1st Edition.
- Obama, B., 2009, ‘State of the Union Address’, at http:joanjoyce.com/blog/?p=884 (accessed on 27 February).
- Schatzberg, M.G., 1991, Mobutu or Chaos? The United States and Zaïre, 1960- 1990, Lanham & Philadelphia: University Press of America.
- Villalon, L. & Huxtable, P., Eds., 1997, Critical Juncture: The African State between Disintegration and Reconfiguration, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Weisman, S.R., 1974, American Foreign Policy in the Congo 1960-1964, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
- Wunsch, J.S. & Olowu, D., 1990, The Failure of the Centralized State: Institutions and Self-Governance in Africa, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
- Zartman, I.W., 1995, ed., Collapsed States: The Disintegration and Restoration of Legitimate Authority. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Zartman, I.W., 1999, Collapsed States, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
References
Conrad, J., 1999, Au Coeur des Tenèbres, Paris: Edition Mille et Une Nuit.
Dugard, J., 2000, International Law: A South African Perspective, 2nd Ed, Johannesburg: Juta & Co.
Gutto, S.B.O., 2009, ‘Projecting Change and Continuity under the Obama Administration’, Keynote Address at the US-Africa Policy Forum organised by Africa Action in collaboration with Howard University African Studies Department, Howard University, Washington D.C., 19 February.
Jackson, R.H., 1990, Quasi-States: Sovereignty, International System, and the Third World, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Mangu, A.M.B., 2011, Obama’s election: Lessons from the world, Africa, and US foreign Policy, Saarbrucken: Lambert Academic Publishing.
Mangu, A.M.B., 2012, Barack Obama et les défis du changement global, Paris: L’Harmattan.
Médard, J-F., 1977, ‘L’Etat sous-développé au Cameroun’, Année Africaine, 1977, 35-84.
Migdal, J., 1988, Strong Societies and Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Mwihaki, J., 2009, ‘Obama, Local Hero: Obama Special’, Msafiri, Edition No. 66, Kenya Airways, February-April, 54-60.
Nzongola-Ntalaja, G., 1998, From Zaïre to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nordiska Africainstitutet.
Obama, B., 2008, The Audacity of Hope. Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, New York: Vintage Books, 1st Edition.
Obama, B., 2009, ‘State of the Union Address’, at http:joanjoyce.com/blog/?p=884 (accessed on 27 February).
Schatzberg, M.G., 1991, Mobutu or Chaos? The United States and Zaïre, 1960- 1990, Lanham & Philadelphia: University Press of America.
Villalon, L. & Huxtable, P., Eds., 1997, Critical Juncture: The African State between Disintegration and Reconfiguration, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Weisman, S.R., 1974, American Foreign Policy in the Congo 1960-1964, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Wunsch, J.S. & Olowu, D., 1990, The Failure of the Centralized State: Institutions and Self-Governance in Africa, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Zartman, I.W., 1995, ed., Collapsed States: The Disintegration and Restoration of Legitimate Authority. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Zartman, I.W., 1999, Collapsed States, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.