America and the World After Bush: Diplomacy and Security
 |
James Joyner | Wednesday, January 21, 2009 |
Barack Obama has been president for more than 24 hours now. America is once again beloved by one and all. Hubris and overreach are things of the past, as the inmates of Gitmo have been freed and the troops are all home from Iraq, participating in rebuilding the infrastructure at home. Or, certainly, change is in the air.
As we wait for the Obama administration to settle in and finish whatever remains of the above tasks, we continue our look at the post-Bush era and Thomas Barnett’s forthcoming Great Powers: America and the World After Bush. Rather than continuing a chapter-by-chapter treatment, today’s installment will look at Chapter 5: “The Diplomatic Realignment: Rebranding the Team of Rivals” and Chapter 6, “The Security Realignment: Rediscovering Diplomacy, Defense, and Development.”
We need a rethink our grand strategy, which Barnett defines as a “diplomatic approach to shaping this age.” Because of our rule as the global Leviathan, it should be “mostly about trying to shape every other state’s grand strategy.” Our main problem at the moment is “unreasonable expectations for immediate success.”
Continued at New Atlanticist: America and the World After Bush: Diplomacy and Security
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
Follow James on FriendFeed | Twitter | Digg
- America and the World After Bush: Diplomacy and Security
- America and the World After Bush: Economics and Globalization
- America and the World After Bush: 12 Step Recovery Plan
- Wanted: a Grand Strategy (Updated)
- America and the World After Bush: A Look Back
- Samantha Power Joining Obama Team
- Foreign Policy Blogging
- Grading Obama
- Americans Want Allies, Willing to Go Alone
- America Dominates World Beard and Moustache Championships
- House Trades Freedom for Health Coverage, Senate’s Move
- Hasan a Muslim First, American Second?
- OTB Caption JamTM
- Taking “No” As Iran’s Answer
- Update on the Fort Hood Massacre
- OTB Latenight – Soft Cell
- Caption Contest Winners
- Breaking: Shootings at Fort Hood (Updated)
- Pentagon Expected To Ask For Supplementary War Funding. As Usual.
- Marking the Anniversary of the Embassy Seizure
He started well, but everybody compares him, it seems, to G.W.B., which was one of the worst presidents.
We will know more in 4 or 8 years.
