Barack Obama and the Arab Spring

In Barack Obama and the Arab Spring: A Successful Balancing Act of Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, Ahmed Zohny develops a well-blended marriage of history and political theories of U.S. foreign policy, diplomacy, public diplomacy, and national security. In this interdisciplinary research, he uses data and findings from both the Arabic and English languages by genealogically examining President Obama’s foreign policy and diplomacy in response to the chronology of the unfolding events of the 2011 Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. President Obama and his top diplomats’ performances in response to each country’s events are assessed, critically analyzed, and compared to one another in terms of the U.S. bilateral relations with each country, U.S. national interests, and her strategic goals in the Middle East region. The findings of this research indicate that President Obama’s foreign policy and public diplomacy toward the Arab Spring proved to be a successful balancing act, prudent and in the best national interests of the United States in the Middle East.

“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.” , “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.”

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