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9781498584258

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“Amidst the flood of books on the Arab Spring, Ahmed Zohny's stand out, for it brings together the experience of someone who knows his subject personally and the detached rigor of a trained scholar. The result is a fine-grained analysis of the forces at work in this historic period of turmoil and transition in the Middle East nuanced by insights into the persons and culture of the region. The author's understanding of the Obama administration's modes of thinking and diplomacy adds yet another valuable dimension. I recommend it most highly.” -- Michael Brenner, University of Pittsburgh “An insightful study of how the Obama administration responded to the Arab Spring, this book argues convincingly that American foreign policy can balance realism and principle in the effort to make the world a safer and freer place - an important book for students of public diplomacy today.” -- Erik Dahl, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA “From challenges associated with democratization in the Middle East to U.S. policy during the uprisings that came to be known as the Arab Spring, students, scholars, and policymakers alike are certain to find much in Barack Obama and the Arab Spring that will contextualize Obama-era foreign policy decisions and the challenging circumstances under which the administration operated. This is important reading for those who want to understand U.S. diplomacy and the Obama presidency.” -- Ivan Sascha Sheehan, University of Baltimore Coppin State University professor Ahmed Zohny explores United States president Barack Obama’s Middle East foreign policy and public diplomacy, particularly in reaction to the Arab Spring. With its origins in a course taught by Zohny, the book also discusses the intellectual evolution of international relations and provides important conceptual background to the events discussed therein. As Zohny argues, the Obama administration was reasonably successful in the Middle East: it avoided major disasters despite being confronted with significant challenges, it strengthened American public diplomacy, and it found a balance between the realist need for nationalsecurity and the idealist foreign interven­tions and democracy promotion associated with the administration of George W. Bush. (JDC) * Middle East Journal *

Amidst the flood of books on the Arab Spring, Ahmed Zohny's stand out, for it brings together the experience of someone who knows his subject personally and the detached rigor of a trained scholar. The result is a fine-grained analysis of the forces at work in this historic period of turmoil and transition in the Middle East nuanced by insights into the persons and culture of the region. The author's understanding of the Obama administration's modes of thinking and diplomacy adds yet another valuable dimension. I recommend it most highly. -- Michael Brenner, University of Pittsburgh An insightful study of how the Obama administration responded to the Arab Spring, this book argues convincingly that American foreign policy can balance realism and principle in the effort to make the world a safer and freer place - an important book for students of public diplomacy today. -- Erik Dahl, Naval Postgraduate School

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Ahmed Y. Zohny is associate professor of political science, law, and international affairs at Coppin State University.

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