THE UNITED STATES: BACK ON TRACK IN A AN INCREASINGLY TURBULENT WORLD Cover Image

Stany Zjednoczone - stopniowy powrót do formy w coraz bardziej niespokojnym świecie
THE UNITED STATES: BACK ON TRACK IN A AN INCREASINGLY TURBULENT WORLD

Author(s): Aleksandra Jarczewska
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, International relations/trade
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: Midterm elections; Ukraine; Islamic State; Iran; Afghanistan; Barack Obama; Cuba; nuclear agreement; climate agreement; China

Summary/Abstract: According to President Obama, 2014 was supposed to be “a year of action”.However, the implementation of his ambitious plan was extremely difficult due tothe opposition of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, a generaldecline in public trust in politicians, as well as the ongoing “dirty“ campaign forCongress.In domestic politics the relentless struggle of rival political parties as well as thewidening social divisions and radicalization among Americans could be observed.The condition of the US economy has improved compared to previous years, however,it was not reflected in growing optimism among voters, nor in the increase ofsupport for the Democrats. In the November midterm elections the Democrats suffereda crushing defeat. They lost their majority in the Senate, and achieved the worstresult in the House of Representatives since the end of World War II.In foreign policy, in addition to the regular issues and problems, new challengesemerged. The most important turned out to be Russia’s policy towards Ukraine, therise of the Islamic State, prolonged negotiations with Iran on its nuclear programmeand the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. With no doubt, the most significant foreign policy achievements in 2014 were the historic decision to restore the diplomaticrelations with Cuba and the climate agreement with China.As a result, 2014 was a time of internal tensions, but also new challenges and increasingproblems in foreign policy.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 196-218
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish