U.S. Foreign Policy in Theory and Practice: From Soviet-Era Containment to the Era of the Arab Uprising(s)

This article aims to pursue a brief but enlightening comparative study of U.S. discourse and practice of various U.S. presidential administrations toward the Middle East from World War II to the present day. The goal is to evaluate the current status of U.S. foreign policy on the occasion of the Arab uprisings and to disclose the centrality of the “national interest” in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy. The “Arab Spring” and the transformation of the Middle East as a region crucial to U.S. interests have presented a golden opportunity for U.S. policymakers to reassess strategies and reconsider both policies and tactics. The analysis argues that a gradual intensification characterizes both discourse and policies. I present arguments about the five phases U.S. policy has undergone and also discuss the “Individual Realism” and “Opportunistic Humanitarianism”’ that U.S. foreign policy has been founded on and shaped by. Barack Obama's presidency has not altered U.S. foreign policy discourse or practice much; even more significant, during his time in office, Obama does not seem to have left his own mark.