Kontinuitas dan Perubahan Grand Strategy antara Pemerintah Nixon dan Obama terhadap Kawasan Timur Tengah

Ratih Melati EKa Manjari, Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro

2017 | Skripsi | Ilmu Hubungan Internasional

ABSTRACT American grand strategy has undergone transformation since the Cold War era up until today, an era marked with the event of 9/11. Both eras commenced with the emergence of the United States as great power, respectively under President Richard Nixon and Barack Obama. Both presidents faced the challenge of maintaining U.S. influence and interest abroad under the changing structure and process of international politics in the aftermath of major wars under their immediate predecessors, especially in the Middle East. Interestingly, Nixon and Obama selected the retrenchment strategy that constitutes scaling back U.S. policy abroad, as well as maintaining close relation with two regional great powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Despite their ostensibly retrenched foreign policy, Nixon and Obama adopted different outline of grand strategies. During his presidency Nixon opted for “twin-pillars strategy,” a manifest of offshore balancing. On the other hand, Obama chose selective engagement that pursued a more active foreign policy in the Middle East. This paper seeks to identify and comprehend the change and continuity of United States’ grand strategy in the Middle East between Nixon and Obama administration as well as understand Iran and Saudi Arabia centrality within their grand strategy outlines. Keywords: grand strategy, balance of power, retrenchment, Richard Nixon, Barack Obama, offshore balancing, selective engagement

Kata Kunci : Hubungan Internasional