The paper will outline various criteria for evaluating presidential foreign policy leadership, drawing on the specialist foreign policy literature. The criteria will include conceptual and procedural coherence, sense of direction, successful crisis-management, and communication of purpose. The criteria will then be applied to Obama's foreign policy record, with particular emphasis being placed on the consequences of a highly White House-centred foreign policy operation. Competing belief systems of prominent individuals will be assessed as will key policy areas, notably relations with Russia and with Iran. The paper will also have a comparative dimension, contrasting Obama's leadership record with that of presidents Bush (I), Clinton, and Bush (2).
