Abstract

Under George W. Bush's presidency America turned into ‘an empire of fear’ that focused mainly on terrorism issues. Generally, most of all the foreign undertakings made by Bush administration were criticized and condemned. Nonetheless, there was one sphere of relations where Bush's strategy was praised – the U.S.-Africa relations. Yet, it was during Bush's tenure when the U.S. expanded military engagement on the continent. However, the election of Barack Obama for the President of the United States in 2008 incited a new range of hopes for a change in U.S. policy toward Africa and contributed to a raise in African support for the U.S. leadership in the world. However, the first year of Obama's presidency showed that there will be rather continuity in U.S. policy towards Africa. Even though a change has appeared in the rhetoric, the main forms of American policy towards Africa, such as military engagement and development assistance have remained the same. Therefore, the evolving Obama's doctrine toward Africa has already been called ‘tough love’ or ‘pragmatic progressivism.’ This article is an attempt to outline the main assumptions of Obama's policy towards Africa, in comparison with George W. Bush's policy. The author presents Africans’ reactions to American ‘tough love’ rhetoric and assessment of Obama's emerging policy towards Africa.