American Foreign Policy

The final debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will be held on Monday, October 22, and will focus on questions of foreign policy. Watch the debate and read the debate transcript and answer the following question: Many analysts argue that election in foreign policy. Foreign policy, according to this view, is governed by the national interest rather than electoral interests and thus shows little variance across political parties. While we may observe some superficial( mainly stylistic) policy changes when a new incumbent takes office, the core understanding of international relations remains intact. Based on your reading of the American presidential debate, do you agree with this approach? If you identify a common understanding of international relations shared by both candidates, identify its core components and examine whether those correspond or mirror any of IR’s leading theoretical schools. if, however, you find fundamental differences between the two candidates, identify those and discuss whether these disagreements stem from different theoretical understandings of the nature of international politics. Based on your analysis should we expect a hypothetical president Obama and a hypothetical president Romney to have similar foreign policies? Why