In formally accepting the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Thursday, United States President Barack Obama enunciated a worldview that places him squarely within the realist and liberal internationalist thinking that dominated post-World War II US foreign policy - at least until his predecessor's 'global war on terror'.
In asserting before the Nobel Academy that 'evil does exist in the world' and that 'there will be times when nations will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified', Obama echoed the realism long favored by Republican policymakers in particular.
At the same time, his emphasis on the importance of building international institutions designed to prevent war - 'an idea for which Woodrow Wilson received this prize', he noted - as well as to 'protect human rights, prevent genocide, restrict the most dangerous weapons', echoed the liberal internationalist creed embraced, at least rhetorically, by Democratic presidents since Wilson himself.
By: Brant
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