Obama’s World

As Barack Obama prepares to leave office, Nahal Toosi, foreign affairs correspondent for Washington-based news outlet Politico, talks to people in the countries most affected by Obama’s decisions in a one-hour documentary for the BBC World Service.

When Barack Obama was sworn into office in January 2009 he had already gained millions of fans around the world thanks to his promise to change the way America behaved abroad. His foreign policy objectives were clear: he would reset relations with Russia, extend a hand of friendship to the Muslim world, bring Iran in from the cold and end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He promised action on nuclear arms and climate change. Many people in many time-zones who tuned in to watch Obama’s inauguration felt like change was coming.

Toosi finds out how lives have changed, from the people living through drone warfare in Pakistan to the residents of Cuba who witnessed Obama’s historic visit. She hears from those inside Obama’s foreign policy machine on why and how key decisions on Egypt, Syria and Ukraine were taken, and she asks how the world will look back on Obama’s time in office.

Publicity contact: BBC World Service Publicity