Democratic interventionists versus pragmatic realists: Employing the advocacy coalition framework to explain Obama's shift in multilateralism with European allies

Abstract

This research employs the advocacy coalition framework (ACF) to examine two coalitions of U.S. foreign policy during the early part of Barack Obama's presidency when U.S. policy shifted from leading multilateral security operations with European allies to catalyzing others to lead. It identifies the primary members of two coalitions, the Democratic Interventionists and the Pragmatic Realists, who held differing beliefs about U.S. foreign policy. I investigate the beliefs of the members of these coalitions regarding the U.S. role in multilateral security operations, the policy preferences that emerge from those beliefs, the many strategies employed to ensure the adoption of their policy preferences, and the impact of the implemented policy. The ACF facilitates consideration of the strategy, means, and settings that the Pragmatic Realist coalition used to win the policy debate in the Obama administration. This article further provides a greater understanding of the circumstances that support U.S. multilateralism.

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