Introduction: Continuity in American foreign policy from Bush to Obama

This book addresses a pressing, contemporary puzzle, which reflects enduring debates in the discipline of International Relations and the social sciences more generally. Why has a president elected on a platform of change pursued such a high degree of continuity in his foreign and security policy? The answer is neither simple nor clear-cut. To understand continuity in American foreign policy after 2008, it is necessary to consider Obama’s role as a strategic agent and the challenging nature of the strategically selective context in which he operates. How should we conceptualise this context? Does it include relative American decline within the international system, an institutionalised ‘War on Terror’, and culturally deep-rooted discourses, established in the aftermath of September 11th 2001? How should we conceptualise Obama’s ability to act within such a context, however understood? Has Obama, at times, actually opted for continuity, of his own volition? This book grapples directly with fundamental questions of change and continuity such as these, in its exploration of US foreign policy during Barack Obama’s first term in office, from January 2009 to January 2013