Reshaping America? Policy choices and policy dilemmas in the second Obama term

authored by

Christiane Lemke

Abstract

This essay explores the political discourse and the institutional context at the start of President Obama’s second term. Given the current institutional fragmentation and highly divisive political discourse the question is: will President Obama be more successful in implementing reforms in his second term than he was in his first term in office? With the economy slowly recovering, the political space for policy choices in the second Obama term is widening, but, as the following analysis shows, choices are complex and—against the backdrop of a highly fragmented political system—at times paradoxical. Policy fields examined include economic policies and the fiscal cliff, immigration reform, climate change policy and the discourse on civil rights. The deep rift between Republicans and Democrats makes compromising more difficult, if not unlikely.

External Organisation(s)

New York University (NYU)

Type

Article

Journal

Zeitschrift fur Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft (ZfVP) (druck)

Volume

7

Pages

101-116

No. of pages

16

ISSN

1865-2646

Publication date

01.07.2013

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sociology and Political Science

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities, SDG 13 - Climate Action

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12286-013-0149-6 (Access: Unknown)