Scholars regularly label the Nixon-Kissinger period as non-ideological and the Reagan administration as the opposite. I reject this dichotomy, arguing instead that ideology plays a role in all presidential administrations. This being the case the crucial aspect to study is the ideological character of various presidencies and the influence of particular ideologies on policy. In this paper I analyse the ideological character of the Obama administration’s foreign relations, arguing that its ideology is a combination of liberalism and realism. After the departure of the Bush era, the Obama administration has largely returned American foreign policy to an ideological consensus that dates back to the 1930s. Of course events matter here: I will examine how the Obama administration responded to events in the Middle East and the Ukraine and to the ongoing rise of China. At the ideational level these responses have altered expectations about America's role in the world.
