Foreign and Defense Policies of the United States In America, there has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists - a tension that suggests a harsh choice between the petty pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values... I reject this choice. President Barack Obama, Nobel Peace Prize, December 10, 2009 Since the end of the Cold War, the grand strategy of the United States has focused on maintaining the country's overwhelming military, economic and political preponderance. However America is changing, President Barack Obama is shifting American foreign policy away from its historical norms based on exceptionalism, insularity and bipartisanship. President Obama said; that the United States will use its economic and military might as a stabilizing influence; that America will multilaterally engage other global partners to solve security, economic, financial and environmental problems; and will become a post-partisan president, bridging the party's gap in foreign policy ideology. Therefore, President Obama has reconceptualized US foreign policy resulting in a major redefinition, an ideological shift, that will realign America's role in the world. When we examine Obama's foreign policy from an exceptionalism perspective, we see a departure from the United States' historical understanding of its role. The United States of America has long believed that it is a unique nation, a nation that was created and developed differently, a nation unlike any other in the world, a nation blessed by God, an exceptional nation. The United States has steadfastly maintained the exceptional vision of being the dominant defender of democracy, freedom, equality, and capitalism. Traditionally because of its mi...... middle of paper......07): 71-83.DeConde, Alexander. Isolation and Security: Ideas and Interests in Twentieth-Century American Foreign Policy. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1957.McCormick, John. “American Exceptionalism: The Implications for Europe.” Journal of Transatlantic Studies Vol 3, No. 2 (Fall 2005): 200-205, 213-214. Obama, Barack. "President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address." The White House. January 20, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-barack-obamas-inaugural-address (accessed November 16, 2010). "Remarks by the President upon Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize." The White House. December 10, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-acceptance-nobel-peace-prize (accessed November 16, 2010). Schwarz, Benjamin and Christopher Layne. "A new grand strategy." Atlantic Monthly 289, no. 1 (January 2002): 36-42.