Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
Pejman Yousefzadeh ·
December 11, 2012 at 7:10am
Lots of Obamaphiles like to say that Barack Obama is a practitioner of realpolitik in the mold of George Herbert Walker Bush. Presumably, this is meant to make Republicans more comfortable with Obama's foreign policy. But Paul Bonicelli studies the record and takes issue with this claim. Here’s why:
- Practitioners of realpolitik don’t seek the approval of the United Nations as much as the Obama administration does.
- Practitioners of realpolitik do more to try to shape the international system so that it conforms with the interests of the nation-state being led/represented by the practitioners in question.
- Practitioners of realpolitik do more to secure economic and military strength in order to maximize nation-state power.
- And finally, when practitioners of realpolitik have leverage overseas, they tend to use it instead of wasting it.
I would love to have an administration that pays more than lip service to the principles of realpolitik. But the Obama administration is not that administration. I don’t get why the president and his buddies don’t just call themselves Wilsonian internationalists? Whom do they think they are fooling, anyway?
- Comment (8)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (5)
Comments:
Oct '10
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
PY-"Whom do they think they are fooling, anyway?"
The media, for sure
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
Hopefully, we can do something about that.
TeamAmerica: PY-"Whom do they think they are fooling, anyway?"
The media, for sure · 22 minutes ago
Feb '11
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
No one cares.
Oct '10
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
PY-"Hopefully, we can do something about that."
Any ideas as to how we can barring a major foreign policy crisis
Sep '10
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
Whom do they think they are fooling, anyway?
Everyone, unfortunately. And way too many let him get away with it.
Jun '12
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
Better question: Does Barack Obama believe in anything except his own power?
The answer is no.
Mar '12
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
The evidence suggests that he is a believer in surreal politik.
Re: Does Barack Obama Believe in Realpolitik?
I was afraid of that.