Obama, Congress, and Audience Costs
Shifting the Blame on the Red Line
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4287761 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah Burns (0000-0002-0676-3653, Apple (Israel)), Andrew Stravers (Institute for Security Studies) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 135 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 67-101 |
| Publication date | 2020-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Science Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3195 • E-ISSN: 1538-165X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1002/polq.12997 |
| OpenAlex | W3011697390 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ENTERED OFFICE vowing to draw down two wars and revive America’s image abroad. In light of these assertions, his decision to initiate hostilities against Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011 without congressional authorization took many by surprise. Obama argued the United States had a unique ability to spearhead the operation and a Responsibility to Protect (R2P) the people of Libya. He expressed no qualms about sidestepping Congress, offering only ambivalence about the benefit of—not the need for—congressional support. In Congress, his unilateralism “raised all sorts of hackles” that came to very little. Obama’s actions received a “veneer of outrage” followed by “the collective message... of supplication,” giving him every reason to assume he could act the same way in the future.1 Changing course in 2013, Obama asked Congress to provide an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad in similar circumstances. In contrast to his actions on the civil war in Libya, Obama justified this decision by claiming the use of chemical weapons did not require a quick response. While many praised his decision to acknowledge Congress’s coequal status, the contrasting rhetoric and actions raise a number of questions
Blame · Citation · Library science · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Academic Freedom and Politics · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.6 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2023 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |