Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy Towards Middle East in the Changing Geopolitical Landscape: A New Path for Peace and Stability in the Region

Abstract

When Barack Obama came to power in 2009 he inherited a messy legacy of two wars of Afghanistan and Iraq, and a worsened financial crisis of 2008. United States was no longer a status quo power at international level. The rise of the multipolar world put constraints on US power globally that forced her to bring changes in her strategies to cope with the dynamics of changing geopolitical scenario of the world. Owing to the rise of Imperial China, Russia and India, a consensus developed in Washington to focus strategic priorities on Asia. The rise of China was regarded as a threat to US hegemony in the Asia-Pacific. Hillary Clinton, then Secretary of State, said: “One of the most important tasks of American statecraft over the next decade will therefore be to lock in a substantially increased investment_ diplomatic, economic, strategic, and otherwise_ in the Asia-Pacific region.” 1