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State and the Stateswoman

How Hillary Clinton Reshaped U.S. Foreign Policy — But Not the World
Michael E. O'Hanlon
January 29, 2013
Article Summary and Author Biography

Hillary Clinton has had a solid tenure as secretary of state. There have been plenty of accomplishments and no major failures, but nor has there been any world-historical Clinton Doctrine. More than anything else, her continued effort to create one might just lead her to the Oval Office.

MICHAEL O’HANLON is a Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution and coauthor (with Martin Indyk and Kenneth Lieberthal) of Bending History: Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy.

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Essay
Leading Through Civilian Power
Hillary Rodham Clinton

To meet the range of challenges facing the United States and the world, Washington will have to strengthen and amplify its civilian power abroad. Diplomacy and development must work in tandem, offering countries the support to craft their own solutions.

Secretary of State Clinton during an interview. (Gary Cameron / Courtesy Reuters)

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares to hand the reins of foreign policy over to Senator John Kerry, her legacy is a matter of hot debate. To be sure, with much of the Middle East in turmoil and U.S. relations with Russia and China shifting, broad assessments of her tenure, no matter how heated, are only provisional. Even so, some of the most important and enduring elements of the Clinton years -- steadiness and pragmatism coupled with a reinvigoration of ties with Europe and the so-called rebalancing with Asia -- are clear...

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