American Power and Liberal Order: A Conservative Internationalist Grand Strategy by Paul D. Miller

Author:Paul D. Miller [Miller, Paul D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Security (National & International), Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781626166431
Google: uTmDDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 30148703
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Published: 2016-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Table 6.1. Distribution of Power across Regions

The United States has a less well-developed military posture in South Asia and the Middle East and virtually nothing established in Latin America and Africa, somewhat justified by their lesser importance to American security and the smaller role they play either supporting or opposing liberal order. However, as I argue below, the United States should make greater investments in some of these regions. If it were to systematically realign its global aid and alliance posture, it would involve bolstering ties to full or partial democracies with whom it does not currently have an established relationship. Tony Smith, in advocating for what he calls “selective liberal democratic internationalism,” argued that “important stakes must be involved or that the likelihood of success is high before the United States commits itself.”5 In order to avoid overstretch or utopian aspirations, the United States should seek stronger ties only with states that meet three criteria. First, they should be either full or partial democracies. Second, there should be an opportunity for partnership with the United States to consolidate or advance liberal, accountable governance. And third, the state should be able to offer the United States some strategic benefits, such as a platform of access to the region, cooperation against a terrorist group or drug-trafficking organization, or cooperation against a nuclear autocracy. (That does not limit the United States to partnering only with large, rich, or powerful states. Smaller states might still play an important role regionally or by virtue of their geography.) In other words, the United States should prioritize its investment in new relationships abroad by looking at how powerful or potentially powerful a state is, where it is located, and its commitment to liberalism or its prospects for liberalization. The purpose is twofold: US aid, investment, and security cooperation will help democracies—especially new, transitioning, or weak ones—consolidate self-government and strengthen institutions of good governance. In return, those countries can join the existing network of US partners that act as a stabilizing presence in key regions against the nuclear autocracies or failed states.

The greatest opportunity to enhance US security and liberal order in the twenty-first century is to partner with democratic great powers not already in the alliance system in strategically important regions—which is the long way of saying “India.” The US–Indian relationship is the single greatest unrealized opportunity for US security and liberal order in the twenty-first century. Investing in the Indian economy would increase the proportion of global wealth in democratic hands, and working more closely with India on issues of global concern would add resilience and strength to liberal order, especially if US relative power declines. Enhancing US–Indian ties through aid, trade, technical assistance, joint military exercises, weapon sales, strategic talks, and cultural exchange should be the top new initiative for US foreign policy in coming decades.

The next priority for US engagement should be quietly supporting liberalism among its allies in strategically important regions whose historical track record on liberalism is shaky: Turkey, Thailand, the Philippines, and, possibly, Pakistan, depending on the fate of its civilian government.

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