Global Economics Monthly: Obama's Legacy Tour

All overseas trips by U.S. presidents have significance, but next month’s tour of the Asia-Pacific region by President Barack Obama is more important than most. Coming just days after his final national elections, Obama’s visits to China, Myanmar, and Australia could do more than any other trip he has taken as president to shape his foreign policy legacy. This is a matter of both substance—because the trip could seal the fate of Obama’s Asia “rebalancing” strategy—and style—as Obama’s coalition building approach to foreign policy will be tested on the trip...