One of the warhorses of the first Obama administration runs the risk of falling by the wayside.
Think US foreign policy, and the region that comes to mind is the Middle East. But will that always be the case? One of the greatest legacy projects of the Obama administration has been to steer the US out of its entanglements in the Middle East and towards a new leadership position in Asia. Five years after the Obama administration announced its “pivot to Asia” in 2011, we have some indication of how the new, bold policy is faring: so far, it is unimpressive. When detailing Obama’s Asia policy as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton promised to usher in “America’s Pacific Century”. This ambitious deployment of US power in China’s backyard would be achieved through bilateral security alliances, a deeper working relationship with China, regional institutions, trade and an expanded military footprint. Democracy and human rights would not be forgotten along the way, of course.
But as Obama prepares to hand over the reins next year, the future of his signature foreign policy shift remains uncertain. The most significant non-military aspect of the Asia game plan – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – is fast losing support within his own party. The ambitious TPP deal would create the world’s largest free trade zone in terms of the combined GDP of its signatories. But thanks to populist presidential campaigns by both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, anti-trade sentiment has catapulted the issue to the top of the US political agenda, and it is becoming harder for Democrats to back the deal.
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One of the warhorses of the first Obama administration runs the risk of falling by the wayside.
Think US foreign policy, and the region that comes to mind is the Middle East. But will that always be the case? One of the greatest legacy projects of the Obama administration has been to steer the US out of its entanglements in the Middle East and towards a new leadership position in Asia. Five years after the Obama administration announced its “pivot to Asia” in 2011, we have some indication of how the new, bold policy is faring: so far, it is unimpressive. When detailing Obama’s Asia policy as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton promised to usher in “America’s Pacific Century”. This ambitious deployment of US power in China’s backyard would be achieved through bilateral security alliances, a deeper working relationship with China, regional institutions, trade and an expanded military footprint. Democracy and human rights would not be forgotten along the way, of course.
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