The first lady of social media: The visual rhetoric of Michelle Obama’s Twitter images

While American first ladies have long used media to craft their image, Michelle Obama is the first contemporary first lady to use social media to promote her public persona. We use the lens of symbolic convergence theory to explore the fantasy themes incumbent in images shared through Michelle Obama’s Twitter account. Since first ladies have long been perceived as representing the American “everywoman,” understanding the fantasies built into the social media image of the first lady extends knowledge about the perception of American women more broadly. Our findings indicate that Michelle Obama’s Twitter images are strategic in that they reflect the visual themes that the media traditionally use in their coverage of first ladies. Specifically, Michelle Obama’s social media messaging portrays her as an activist mother—who espouses noncontroversial causes such as education and children’s health—and a nonpartisan figure with deep familial ties.     

国际格局变化中的中东局势

由于世界格局发生重大变化,奥巴马政府外交政策出现了调整。美国中东政策调整幅度最大,但只是策略和手法的变化,而非战略性改变。美国宣示的调整后的中东政策不可能如实执行。随着美国力衰减,美主导中东事务的能力减弱。大中东热点问题如巴以冲突、阿富汗战争、伊拉克战争和伊朗核问题都出现了一些新的变化,但这些问题矛盾复杂,涉及面广,仍难以解决。     

The Racial Dialectic: President Barack Obama and the White Racial Frame

This paper introduces the concept of the ??racial dialectic?? to describe the ways racial dialogues and policies have transformed in the wake of Barack Obama??s historic election to the presidency of the United States of America. Using public statements and behaviors from elected officials, pundits, and Obama himself as case study data, we examine the tension between what we term the hard racial frame, the soft racial frame, and the racial counterframe in the public discourses. We conclude that these competing frames produce a dialectic that has transformed the way racial issues are discussed and interpreted in the wake of Obama??s election.     

Obama,Palin, and Weber: Charisma and Social Change in the 2008 U.S. Election

Barack Obama et Sarah Palin sont tous les deux souvent étiquetés en tant que charismatique par le public. Pour évaluer si oui ou non, Obama et Palin démontrent une forme de charisme tel que définit par Weber, leurs rhétoriques et leurs actions sont examinées dans le contexte d'élections passées et dans celui où règne une stagnation politique mise en scène par la guerre des cultures. Là où la connexion entre Palin et le public émerge de son rôle de défenderesse dans la guerre des cultures, Obama a articulée une vision d'une communauté partagée, et se faisant, a réorganisé l'électorat en incorporant dans sa coalition la jeunesse désenchantée qui n'avait pas voté durant les dix dernières années. Both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are commonly labeled “charismatic” by the public. To assess whether or not Obama and Palin exhibit charisma in the Weberian sense, their rhetoric and actions are examined in the context of past elections and the political stagnation brought about by the politics of the culture wars. Where Palin's connection with the public flows from her role as a fighter in the culture wars, Obama articulated a vision of shared community and, in doing so, reorganized the electorate by incorporating disenchanted youth who had not voted over the past decade into his coalition. Thus, in Weberian terms, only Obama manifests charisma.     

The Tale of Two Obamas

In this paper I trace the tensions between structure and agency, the racial and the postracial, as they intersect and clash in the body of Barack Obama, and the US Presidency more broadly. These tensions are examined in the context of contemporary neoliberal political economy and its hyper-extenuated condition, neo-neoliberalism. Finally, the condition of postraciality is read through a critical analysis of the writings of Shelby Steele on Obama and a conceptualization of Obama the Person and Obama the Phenom.     

‘Mutts like Me’: Multiracial Students’ Perceptions of Barack Obama

Existent sociological studies of multiracialism in the United States focus on identity construction, the cultural and legislative battle over multiracial categorization, and the implications of demographic shifts towards an increasingly ??mixed race?? population. This article engages literature from each of these areas, and uses data from in-depth interviews with self-identified multiracial students to document their perceptions of President Barack Obama and trace the symbolic boundaries of multiracial identity. Interviews are specifically directed towards the influence of race on Obama??s identity management and political career, the relationship between Obama and respondents?? multiracial identity, and Obama??s impact on America??s racial history. Respondents hold favorable opinions of the President despite his inconsistent affirmation of multiracial identity. They believe that emphasis on Obama??s blackness rather than multiracialism is the unfortunate result of both personal choices and political pressures. In addition, the cohort insists that racism remains is a major factor in Obama??s career and in America at large.     

Avant-Garde Militarism and a Post-Hip-Hop President

Feminist global politics scholars have long investigated militarized masculinities to demonstrate the toxic and mutually constitutive relationship between war, militarism and masculinity. This article investigates this relationship in the political sphere by analysing the embodiment, performance and construction of presidential masculinities. In particular, I compare and contrast the presidential masculinities of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Through a multimodal discursive analysis of online presidential photo galleries, I demonstrate that Obama has recast US presidential and African American masculinities in contradictory but significant ways. I argue that Obama constructs and performs a hybrid presidential masculinity that is contemporary, demilitarized and characterized by a post-hip-hop ghetto-style cool. This presidential masculinity and the avant-garde militarism that accompanies it stands in stark contrast to Bush and cleverly camouflages, even reinvigorates, ongoing US militarism across the globe. After all, Obama further institutionalized the ‘War on Terror’, but has a Nobel Peace Prize amongst his accolades. Throughout, I elucidate the concept of presidential masculinities, noting their relationship to hegemonic masculinities. I conclude that Obama's hybrid presidential masculinity may very well be a more sophisticated deployment and embodiment of US hegemonic masculinity in the twenty-first century.     

从伊拉克到阿富汗：美国反恐战略评估

奥巴马执政以来,美国反恐战争重心转移到阿富汗。与小布什不同,奥巴马反恐面临三重挑战,即振兴国内经济、结束反恐战争以及应对新兴大国群体的崛起。阿富汗战争久拖不决,奥巴马增兵重蹈前苏联覆辙,陷入泥潭而难以自拔,伊拉克战争的混乱局面继续在阿富汗延续,成为消耗美国力量的另一大困局。2010年中期选举败北之后,奥巴马的权力基础被削弱。在反恐战争第二个十年,阿富汗战争与美国经济的衰弱一道将继续加速美国在全球的衰落。     

奥巴马政府中东战略中的伊朗政策调整

2009年1月20日巴拉克·奥巴马出任美国新一任总统后,为摆脱美国在中东的战略困境,巩固美国在中东地区的领导地位,对于前任乔治·w·布什政府的伊朗政策进行了调整。鉴于之前美国一味打压伊朗的政策收效甚微,奥巴马政府更加倾向于使用外交手段来处理伊朗问题。由于各种因素的限制,奥巴马政府的伊朗外交处于“有进展、难突破”的状态。本文试就奥巴马政府中东战略中的伊朗政策调整进行分析。     

Jambo Bwana: Kenya’s Barack Obama

Taking Barack Obama as a metonym for ??the Kenyan abroad,?? this article provides a speculative history of this figure, arguing that the Kenyan abroad who was once viewed by Kenyans as an exile is now viewed as diasporic. Obama??s trip to Kenya as a diasporic tourist in Dream from My Father is a point of departure from which to map how the diasporic subject functions in the Kenyan imagination. At the heart of this change from exile to diasporic is the remittance economy. This shift in terms signifies a change in which politics is subordinated to economics. This article examines how this change, and the figure of Obama himself, produces different configurations of Kenyan-ness as understood and practiced by the government, Kenyans abroad, and Kenyans in Kenya.     

Untying the Knot? Assessing the compatibility of the American and European strategic culture under President Obama

This article analyses the similarities and differences of the latest American and European security strategies under President Obama in order to make inferences about the degree of compatibility of their deep-seated and shared norms, beliefs and ideas regarding the means and ends of national security, and to better understand the normative continuity/discontinuity of those norms of the Obama vs. Bush administration. Building upon constructivist work on strategic cultures, the article concentrates on a qualitative analysis of elite security discourses and disaggregates them into their normative and ideational components. By studying strategic cultures empirically and comparatively, the study fills a known void in the literature on strategic cultures. It finds that American and European norms, beliefs and ideas about the means and ends of national security policy are compatible with regards to challenges and threats as well as preferred modes of international cooperation; they are incompatible with regards to commonly held beliefs about the international system and how to address threats, which is worry some politically. Moreover, the article finds that there is a continuity in the US security strategies from President Bush to Obama.     

‘Gutsy’ Decisions and Passive Processes

Abstract

The Obama administration has positioned itself against the militarized discourse of the Bush-era Global War on Terror (GWOT) by articulating a ‘return to the rule of law’. And yet, the figure of the US decision-maker remains as masculinized and militarily-oriented as ever. I demonstrate this seeming incongruity through an analysis of: first, the decision to render the Christmas Day (would-be) bomber of 2009 to the criminal justice system, a decision for which Obama was labelled ‘weak’ (hence feminine) on terrorism; and second, the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US Navy SEALs special operations team, a decision which reaffirmed Obama's warrior credentials, since it proved that he was the ‘strong’ (hence masculine) commander-in-chief. Both cases demonstrate that the hegemony of the masculine ‘warrior decision-maker’ remains privileged and facilitates the re-emergence of the GWOT ‘war machine’, despite the Obama administration's commitment to change.     

From world citizenship to purified patriotism: Obama’s nation-shaping in a global era

This analysis responds to two questions in recent scholarship. The first is Ulrich Beck’s call for scholars to empirically explore how nationhood is evolving in a global context – whether and how nation-states are being cosmopolitanised. The second concerns normative debates regarding what form belonging should take in a global era – patriotic attachments or cosmopolitan ones. The rhetoric of Barack Obama provides empirical fodder for both explorations. As a leader who proclaimed and was widely noted for his cosmopolitan sensibilities, yet ultimately relied heavily on themes of patriotism and American exceptionalism, Obama’s case confirms that nationhood remains a potent form of collectivity in the contemporary era; suggests that although the conditions of globalisation may be facilitative ones with regard to cosmopolitanisation, they are not sufficient ones; and calls into question Martha Nussbaum’s recent claim that if ‘purified’, patriotism lends itself to a ‘striving for global justice and inclusive human love’.     

中东权力格局转换对阿以和平进程的影响

冷战结束后,以色列维持了在中东政治和阿以和平进程中的强势地位,这种地位是冷战后美国在中东独霸地位的单极格局所决定的。全球金融危机的蔓延与伊拉克和阿富汗问题久拖不决消耗了美国霸权赖以生存的硬实力与软实力,奥巴马政府不得不调整政策,转而在阿以之间寻求更加平衡的中东政策,以色列自9·11以来的战略优势期恐将终结。随着中东格局由美国单极独霸格局向美、欧、俄、中、印以及伊朗、以色列、沙特、埃及、土耳其等地区大国构成的多元权力格局的演化,政治优势开始向阿拉伯—伊斯兰世界倾斜。在此背景下,以色列、巴勒斯坦和其他阿拉伯国家需转换安全观念,争取在联合国决议的基础上以更加积极的姿态参与阿以和平进程,实现中东持久和平。     

Beyond Invisibility: Psychosocial Reflections on How President Obama's Image Can Affect Young African American Males

A new chapter in U. S. history has been written, an African American man accomplished that which seemed impossible: Barrack Obama became the forty-fourth president of the United States. Arguably, this inspired positive feelings in many Americans irrespective of racial, cultural, and status. For young African American men, however, I believe this victory may symbolize a new beginning filled with infinite possibilities, which can minimize feelings of invisibility. Thus, this article focuses on how President Obama's image can emerge as a role model for young African American men who are confronted with stereotypic representations of themselves. My scholarship, my therapeutic work with young African American men, and the reality of having an African American president have inspired me to write this article.     

中东伊斯兰国家转型中的“美国因素”

2011年以来,中东地区政局动荡,民众反美情绪日高,这充分暴露了美国中东战略的失误,主要体现在几个方面:美国的横行成为引发中东动荡的一个重要诱因;巴以争端依旧,令阿拉伯人十分不满;为了稳住中东,化被动为主动,以继续掌握中东事务的主导权,奥巴马提出了中东"新思维"。尽管新意不多,但体现了美国政府对中东政策的调整,并日渐清晰。尤其值得一提的是,美国正在打造埃及这个"民主过渡"样板,以促中东其他国家仿效。     

Americans’ Approval of the 2010 Affordable Care Act: Self‐interest and Symbolic Politics*

Public opinion data show substantial variation in attitudes toward the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Utilizing a 2013 Gallup survey of U.S. adults, we examine the effects of self‐interest and symbolic politics measures on several dimensions of ACA approval. Supporting symbolic politics, we find liberal political ideology, democratic party affiliation, and positive evaluations of President Obama are consistently associated with greater approval of the ACA generally, as well as the belief that the ACA will improve the healthcare situation of the United States and one's family specifically. In contrast, self‐interest variables produce less consistent results. Self‐reported familiarity with the law and being uninsured due to one's employer not offering health insurance are associated with greater belief the ACA will improve the healthcare situation of one's family specifically, but not the U.S. healthcare situation generally. Together these findings suggest that political values and symbols—in particular perceptions of President Obama—may be more important in shaping attitudes toward the ACA than self‐interest variables, especially in contexts assessing more generalized support for the legislation.     

中东热点问题与大国关系

中东局势复杂多变，热点问题无一解决。布什政府面对中东困境了无良策，奥巴马执政后如何调整中东政策令人瞩目。欧洲与俄罗斯积极介入中东事务，与美既合作又争夺。阿拉伯国家面临多种冲击，但联合自强的愿望日渐增强。     

Just Another American Story? The First Black First Family

Analyses of racial equality and gender equity remain muted within contemporary U.S. public policy debates. This context mandates a search for a new language to address social inequalities generally, and racial inequalities in particular. In this regard, the construct of family may be especially useful in that family rhetoric is the symbolic carrier of multiple, often contradictory stories about race, gender, class, sexuality and citizenship. Moreover, because family structures are vital institutional carriers for economic transformations of the new global economy, public policies can be made comprehensible via the rhetoric of family. Using the centrality of family narratives in Barack Obama??s campaign and subsequent Presidency as a site for exploring changing conceptions of race, gender, economic security and American national identity, this essay explores how the symbolic and structural dimensions of family have been an important part of the American national story.