U.S Foreign Policy towards Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis of Obama and Trump Administration

Abstract

George Bush to Barack Obama and then to Donald Trump, all presidents have work for securing the American national interest, hence the goal was same but the approaches were different for its pursuance. The study seeks to apply the theoretical paradigm of Neoclassical Realism to elucidate the continuity and change in the foreign policy of U.S towards Pakistan under the administration of Donald Trump and Barack Obama. The theory of neo-classical realism helps to peer inside the black box of the state and analyze the configurations and preferences of the key actors and how internal and external factors are influence it. The study tries to explain the dynamics from war on terror to countering insurgency to peace deal. From the past two decades U.S has always framed its relation with Pakistan in regards to countering terrorism, promotion of democratization and human rights, coalition support fund and promotion of non-nuclear proliferation, U.S formulated and justified its foreign policy under the framework of these component. The study draws a comparative analysis between the two administrations under the umbrella of these components. After the incident of the twin tower bombing, the super power attention was titled towards Pakistan and since then Pakistan has never been off the radar for United States. It is important to study the impacts of foreign policy as it does not only cover the dimension of politics but economic and social as well. The study draws a comparative analysis between the two administrations under these components.