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Politics

Quadriga - World in Crisis - Where is Obama?

September 11, 2014

Global expectations of Barack Obama’s presidency were huge. He was meant to end the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, improve US relations with Russia, and win back the trust of his country's European allies. But then the world was rocked by the financial crisis, the Syrian war, the Ukraine crisis and the threat of Islamic State. Today, many observers regard his presidency as a failure. Are they right?

https://p.dw.com/p/1DAce

The sheer number of current trouble hotspots in Europe, the Arab world, Asia and Africa is mind boggling. Calls for a more effective regulatory force are getting louder. Even America's closest ally, Britain, says it wants more decisiveness from the US. How should NATO react to Russian aggression in Ukraine? How can the progress of Islamic State be halted?

Irak islamischer Staat Kämpfer Januar 2014
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Waffenstillstand in der Ostukraine
Image: Reuters/M.Shemetov
Obama - Rede an die Nation
Image: Reuters

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama is having a hard time living up to his role as leader of the free world and reacting effectively to international challenges. His own voting public is wary of intervention, the US economy is flagging and the Democrats are at risk of losing their majority in Congress.

NATO Manöver in Polen 09.09.2014
Image: Reuters/Kacper Pempel

Will Obama succeed in leading the West out of a myriad of political crises? If he were to turn his back on them, how big of a vacuum would be left? Does the world still need the US to play global referee?

Tells us what you think. Write to quadriga@dw.de

World in Crisis - Where is Obama?

Our guests:

11.04.2013 DW QUADRIGA Studiogast Burkhard Birke 1

Burkhard Birke– studied economics at university and has been a journalist since 1982. Birke became the Washington correspondent for the German channel ARD in 1988. He has also reported from Brussels, London and Paris and today he is the Berlin correspondent for Germany's public broadcasting radio network, Deutschlandradio.

25.07.2013 DW QUADRIGA Erik Kirschbaum

Erik Kirschbaum– Born in New York, Kirschbaum began as a reporter for various dailies and magazines in the US. He moved to Europe in 1989 to become a correspondent in Germanyand Austria. Kirschbaum now works for the “Reuters” news agency in Berlin.

28.08.2014 DW Quadriga Dempsey, Judy

Judy Dempsey- After training as a journalist in Ireland, Ms Dempsey embarked on an international career: From the 1980s to early 1990s she reported from eastern Europe. In 1996 she took over the Financial Times' bureau in Jerusalemwhere she remained until 2001. Judy Dempsey has won numerous awards for her work, including the Anglo-German Prize and the Foreign Press Association Award. She was a Columnist for the International Herald Tribune and works now as a Senior Associate at Carnegie Europe and editor-in-chief of Strategic Europe.