Professor James McAdams presents on the foreign policy of the US President

On the morning of October 22, 2009, at the invitation of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and with the support of the US Embassy in Hanoi, Professor James McAdams from the University of Notre Dame (USA) gave a presentation to a large number of staff and students of the Faculty of International Studies - USSH.

The topic of the talk was “President Barack Obama's Foreign Policy Before and After the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Professor McAdams began his talk with the question: Why did President Barack Obama receive the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on October 9, 2009, when it seems that he has not made any truly outstanding contributions? According to Professor McAdams, the fundamental reason why the Nobel Committee decided to award the prize to President Barack Obama is not because of what the President has done, but because of what he will do during his term.

According to Professor McAdams, one can have high expectations for a person like President Obama. Because he is a typical American. Coming from a poor family, with Kenyan and American blood, he had to go through a difficult childhood, including four years of high school in Indonesia. But above all, President Obama is a simple person, daring to dream and responsible for the community. He is the one who can kindle faith in a peaceful, stable and developed world, where all countries have the responsibility to cooperate with each other.

After the presentation, Professor McAdams answered many questions from both teachers and students on issues such as: the decision to end the US missile defense system in Eastern Europe, the situation in Afghanistan, the characteristics of American political culture, the focus of US foreign policy in the coming time, the US's perspective on the Southeast Asia region, as well as the prospects of Vietnam - US relations...