Evaluate President Obama’s speech upon reception of the Nobel Peace Prize. The speech is available at www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/world/europe/11prexy.text.html. Focus on issues relevant to US relations with the rest of the world such as the role of war in contributing to peace, the role of international institutions, the value and limits of nonviolent approaches, and the US role in the world.

You can evaluate Obama’s views in comparison with those of Bacevich as stated in The Limits of Power and The New American Militarism and writings on Reinhold Niebuhr. Since both Obama and Bacevich have been heavily influenced by Niebuhr, the position expressed in Niebuhr’s The Irony of American History is also a relevant point of comparison. Another way to evaluate Obama’s ideas is to situate them within debates on the relation between ethics and the pursuit of the national interest.
You must go beyond the level that has been covered in class and use additional materials in order to deepen your analysis and expand your understanding. Cite the source of your ideas when you are relying on outside materials in any style as long as author and title are included.