US Rebalancing Toward Asia-Pacific: Beyond the Slogans
25 luglio 2013
July 2013
US Rebalancing Toward
Asia-Pacific: Beyond the Slogans
Although the US recent ‘pivot’ toward the East Asian region has been much discussed, inadequate attention has been paid to the geopolitical consequences of this initiative. This study aims to explain what the U.S. is doing as it shifts its strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific region, discussing the “new” US grand strategy towards the Asia Pacific, epitomized by the slogan "Asia pivot". It does so by describing the main drivers behind the renewed geopolitical centrality of Asia for the United States, the objectives of the Obama administration in the region and the tools deployed by Washington as a consequence of this new approach. Despite the attention it has rightfully garnered, the rebalance remains poorly understood. In addition to misapprehension about its fundamental principles, discussion appears to be dominated by what this
policy isn’t rather than what it is. This Study examines the limits, dilemmas and contradictions of the "Asia pivot" and of the US attempt to re-balance toward the Far East. In particular it considers the political-economy of the pivot and suggests that it could be better understood as part of a longstanding pattern of American engagement with the region. In fact, the rise of China is placing important new
constraints on America’s ability to use economic leverage as an element of its overall policies in the region. The Study also includes the consequences and implications of this rebalancing on the US-Japan strategic alliance and the China’s perception of the US policy in Asia, including some forms of localized cooperation between the two global powers, particularly on the North Korean conundrum.
This essay discusses the new US grand strategy towards the Asia Pacific, epitomized by the slogan "Asia pivot". It does so by describing the main drivers behind the renewed geopolitical centrality...
Although the US’s recent ‘pivot’ toward the East Asian region has been much discussed, inadequate attention has been paid to the political and economic consequences of this initiative. This paper considers the...
“Rebalancing” to the Asia Pacific is the signature foreign policy initiative of the Obama administration. Despite the attention it has rightfully garnered, the rebalance remains poorly understood. In addition...
Since the partition of the Korean peninsula, the crises between Seoul and Pyongyang have ranked high in the US political agenda. Nonetheless, the profile that the Obama administration has chosen to keep is...