AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRESIDENT OBAMA PERIOD IN TERMS OF PLURALISM IN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to examine the foreign policy practices of the 44th President of the United States of America (USA), Barack Obama, and place them in a theoretical framework. It is an indisputable fact that the President has a decisive role in determining the relations with the rest of the world and foreign policy in the US political system. Based on this political reality, this article attempts to explain the general lines of the US foreign policy in the era of the 44th President of  the  USA,  Barack  Obama,  and  the  foundations  and content of the foreign policy paradigm expressed  as the “Obama Doctrine”. Before doing this analysis, the concept of  foreign policy and the position and powers of the president in the American political system will be approached on a general and theoretical level. The article will also provide an evaluation of the concept of “soft power” during Obama period within the scope of pluralism, one of the theories of the international relations, within the context of Obama Doctrine. This aspect of the study is thought to contribute to the literature.