Američka izuzetnost i spoljnа politika: Mit u službi predsednika Sjedinjenih Američkih Država Džordža V. Buša i Baraka Obame
American exceptionalism and foreign policy: Myth in the service of the president of the United States George W. Bush and Barack Obama

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to research the myth of American exceptionalism as a mechanism for justifying the foreign policy decisions of American Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. First, we will talk about the myth of American exceptionalism and its role in contemporary political life. Then we will put it in the context of the presidential mandates of the two mentioned presidents, and then we will give a comparative analysis in the concluding remarks. Mainly the foreign policy speeches of the two presidents are discussed. We will show that regardless of their different approaches to foreign policy, both Bush and Obama used the myth of American exceptionalism to ensure support for their policies, but also that due to different goals, they interpret the myth in different ways, adapting it to the desired meaning. Through the analysis of the discourse, we will see that both presidents are more inclined to an active American role in the world, but with Bush it relies primarily on “hard” power and unilateralism, and with Obama on “smart” power and multilateralism.

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