Niebuhr Revival Doctrine

The American Reinhold Niebuhr was the most famous and influential Christiantheologian in the United States. He insisted on original sin theory and widely usedChristian ethical thoughts in the study of social problems and political issues, thusformed a system theory of modern appliced ethics of Christian realism.Barack Obama stated in2007that his favorite philosopher was Reinhold Niebuhr.After analysis his writings and remarks I found that he display a strong adherence toNiebuhr thought. Overall, Obama’s Niebuhrian foreign policy answers the call forrealism, and its underlying principles differ fundamentally from those of both theClinton Doctrine and the Bush Doctrine. As president, he has instigated Niebuhr foreignpolicy, fully with regard to Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama choose neither isolationismnor belligerence. Rather, he chooses to engage while acknowledging American’slimitation as to what it can achieve.While influenced by the tradition of Democratic liberalism, in fact, Obama’sforeign policy is a kind of Niebuhrian practical idealism, contributing to anunderstanding of the situation and reasons of the Obama’s government’s foreign policy.