Barack Obama and US Foreign Policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Barack Obama and US Foreign Policy - Assignment Example The present paper has identified that the United States foreign policy has deep significance for the lives of Americans and others worldwide in so many ways. Americans may not be aware of the substantial effects that the United States foreign policy has on their daily lives because it is so indirect. The American standard of living, for example, is deeply affected by the state of the economy, and the role of America in the global economy. This is in turn impacted by foreign economic policies which involve investment in companies and capital, trade in goods and services, access to raw materials and energy, and monetary policies and currencies fluctuations. Today, the American economy is more elemental to and dependent upon the international political economy. Besides security, economics, freedom, individual health and individual livelihood, there are other considerable areas of foreign policy that impact Americans. Examples are immigration and population dynamics, tourism, travel, the spread of HIV/AIDS, drug trade, deforestation, global warming, and environmental protection. The United States foreign policy is therefore involved in countless activities and affairs that have immediate and direct, as well as indirect and underlying implications on daily and future lives of Americans. During his victory speech on the evening of November 4, 2008, President-Elect Barack Obama used the moment to remind the world the image of the United States will undergo a dramatic transformation under his administration.†The foreign policy approach that has emerged during Obama’s tenure as president aligns closely with the liberal internationalist concept to foreign policy. A liberal internationalist approach is based on several core beliefs and values, about the interests and aims of foreign policy actions, for different nations and for the United States in specific. Essential domestic values, such as the development of individual freedoms and democracies are perceive d as significant ways to build a balanced, and amicable international order. Liberal internationalism also â€Å"calls for promoting international cooperation and interdependence in a variety of ways as a means to knit states and people today in a web of interdependence to address common problems and reduce the risk of conflict.† President Barrack Obama’s administration has not only had to handle the war on terrorism and the effects of Iraq war, but it also took office at a time when the International and American political economy was rocking at the threshold of breakdown. The first priority of President Barack Obama’s administration was to prevent the economic situation of America from deteriorating further and possibly collapsing into a greater depression. This was done in part by attempting to rebuild the confidence of foreign markets which had been lost during the 2008 economic crisis.