Religion, identity and American power in the age of Obama

Marsden, Lee (2011) Religion, identity and American power in the age of Obama. International Politics, 48 (3). pp. 326-343. ISSN 1740-3898

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Abstract

US foreign policy owes much to a malleable religious identity, shaped by foundational myths, and that this religious dimension has, until recently, been largely neglected in the US foreign policy literature to the detriment of our understanding of how America's status as global hegemon is formed, sustained and expanded. This article explores the role of the foundational myths of manifest destiny, exceptionalism and innocent nation. These foundational myths are explored as they develop into a civil religion espoused by successive presidents from George Washington to the present day. The article considers how Barack Obama has utilised civil religion to maximise domestic support for a foreign policy agenda, which seeks to maintain US hegemony through a more conciliatory and multilateral approach than his predecessor in the White House. Examples of the use of soft power through missionary endeavour and the evangelicalisation of military hard power beginning during the George W. Bush presidency are detailed in order to reveal an Obama presidency that continues to define itself in religious terms while providing opportunities for religious actors to continue to play a role in representing US interests beyond its shores.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Political, Social and International Studies (former - to 2014)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies
Depositing User:	EPrints Services
Date Deposited:	01 Oct 2010 13:57
Last Modified:	28 Mar 2025 02:52
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/9876
DOI:	10.1057/ip.2011.8

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