The Evolution of the US Counter-Terrorism Strategy in the Context of B.Obama`s Administration Foreign Policy

This paper represents a comprehensive study of the evolution of the US counter-terrorism strategy under the B. Obama's administration. The paper reveals the key conceptual framework of the counter-terrorism strategy of the B. Obama's administration, the evolution of the US security forces and sums up the results of the counter-terrorism policy of the United States under the B. Obama's administration. The hypothesis that the failed counter-terrorism policy of George W. Bush with reliance on hard power influenced the change of the strategy of the B. Obama's administration that began to focus on soft power tools in the years of its first term, however its ineffectiveness had only aggravated the problem, that in its turn led to the return to hard methods in counter-terrorism policy which is currently promoted by the new administration of D. Trump. Keywords: international terrorism, B. Obama's foreign policy, Islamic state, US counter-terrorism strategy