CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2010
| Author | Tabor, Aron |
|---|---|
| Title | Theory and Practice in American Foreign Policy: Barack Obama's Presidency and Classical Realism |
| Summary | Recent remarks about Barack Obama’s foreign policy conduct restarted a debate whether his practice can be characterized as realist. This debate shows that such classifications are not evident, which raises the question how the relation between realist theory and practice can be described, and what makes it difficult to decide whether certain conduct of foreign policy is realist or not. In this thesis, I investigate these issues based on the thoughts of main classical realist theorists in the context of American foreign policy. While there are reasons why it is difficult to identify any theory in actual behavior, I also argue that certain peculiarities of realist theories hinder the revelation of such connections. Although many similarities to realist ideas can be found in Obama’s conduct, the thesis will not conclude that his policies can undoubtedly be seen as realist. However, this investigation will provide an opportunity to make some observations about the rather ambiguous relation between realist theory and practice. |
| Supervisor | Astrov, Alexander |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2010/tabor_aron.pdf |
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