Obama’nın Afganistan Stratejisi: Değişim ve Süreklilik
Obama’s Afghanistan Strategy: Continuity and Change

Summary/Abstract: Following the demise of the Cold War, the question of continuity or change in US foreign policy, a country which kept the position of the only remaining hegemonic power in the international system, has found broad acceptance in the literature. In view of that during Obama’s four-year long term in power points of overlap and contradictions between his and Bush’s presidency have been the focus of attention and several heated debates. In order to test these debates the most suitable foreign policy area has appeared to be the US strategy in Afghanistan, a subject that has commonly and closely been related to the concept of global war against terrorism. A closer look at both Bush and Obama’s presidency would reveal that pragmatism rather than choice has played a greater role in the determining US strategy in Afghanistan. In terms of the principle of defence, Obama’s Afghanistan strategy resembled closely to that of Bush’s, while the search for making the adopted strategy more successful and effective has been kept alive. Meanwhile, with the realization that the existing strategy would not work by merely putting security considerations at forefront of attempts to resolve the conflict, new targets have been set up such as paving the way for local elements to control their living environment by strengthening civil capacity in Afghanistan and then turning them into partners who could have a say in the future of their country. Yet again in the area of diplomacy, attempts to reconcile with local elements including the Taliban and efforts to bring the regional actors to take part in the ongoing peace process have become the new strands of the evolving strategy. In view of all these, it is possible to argue that in some respects Obama’s Afghanistan strategy resembles Bush’s while differing from it time to time and producing better results for the US.

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