How Will Shifts In American Foreign Policy Affect Southeast Asia

A new phase in US foreign policy, in which China is viewed as a major threat to American economic and security interests, has begun under the Trump administration. The strong anti-China sentiment is accompanied by efforts to “decouple” from China. If carried too far, they will alienate allies and friends whose cooperation the US will need in order to compete with China. In the broader American foreign policy community, there is an intense ongoing debate on how strong the push-back against China should be. Both moderates and hawks agree on the need for a “tougher” approach but differ on the degree and method of toughness. No coherent strategy has been possible partly because President Trump’s thinking does not always accord with that of his own administration and partly because it is still too early in the day to come out with well-thought-out policies to support such a major change in foreign policy direction. The ongoing adjustments to global policy and strategy will therefore continue as the security focus shifts to the Indo-Pacific region. The “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” concept provides some signs of the broad direction policy may take but its vital economic dimension is still missing. There is greater recognition in Washington of the importance of Southeast Asia. Located in the middle of Indo-Pacific, it will be a contested zone between China and the US and its allies. The US will step up its public diplomacy to better promote its own narrative in Southeast Asia. Under the Trump administration, the importance of the South China Sea to the US has risen. The US will remain a powerful factor in Asia despite Trump and problems at home. China is not on an inevitable path of dominance given its own significant domestic challenges.

The demise of America's Cold War-era foreign policy, has transformed Southeast Asia's relationship with the United States. No longer seen in the political context of communist containment, the countries of Southeast Asia - Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam - are becoming increasingly powerful players in the world economy. Their unparalleled economic growth will dramatically affect the U.S. economy and its relations to other regional powers such as Japan and China. How well the United States responds to this challenge and to the opportunity to forge new relationships in the region will significantly shape the success or failure of our performance as a global superpower. In From Dominoes to Dynamos, John Bresnan, an expert on U.S.-Asian relations, details the steps the United States should take to define a new role in the area. He examines shifting American interests - from strategic to economic - in the region, and surveys the history of an area that includes both historic allies, such as the Philippines, and adversaries, including Vietnam. The book includes a detailed analysis of current economic trends, as well as recommendations for coping with Japan's growing influence in the Southeast Asian economy and a clear analysis of the direction U.S. foreign policy must take to maintain its position as a leading player in the region.

The book assesses U.S. foreign relations in the Indo-Pacific during the Trump Administration, with a particular focus on the regional powers’ response to Trump's “America First” policy. The chapter authors draw on the theoretical insights from dominant International Relations theories – (Neo)Realism, Liberal Institutionalism, and Constructivism – to explain both continuities and discontinuities found in the regional powers’ security and foreign economic policies before and during the Trump Administration. The book will be of interest to new and advanced students of International Relations, Asian Studies, and U.S. foreign policy. The multi-national perspectives of the regional experts offer penetrating analyses of the likely legacy (or lack thereof) of the range of political, security, and trade policy initiatives launched by the Trump Administration and its implications for the balance of power, regional institutions, and national identity-informed approaches to international relations in the Indo-Pacific.

Barack Obama’s "rebalancing" or "pivot" strategy, intended to demonstrate continued US commitment to the Asia-Pacific region in a variety of military, economic, and diplomatic contexts, was launched with much fanfare in 2011. Implicit in the new strategy is both a focus on China – engagement with, and containment of – and a heavy reliance by the United States on its existing friends and allies in the region in order to implement its strategy. This book explores the impact of the new strategy on America’s regional friends and allies. It shows how these governments are working with Washington to advance and protect their distinct national interests, while at the same time avoiding any direct confrontation with China. It also addresses the reasons why many of these regional actors harbour concerns about the ability of the US to sustain the pivot strategy in the long run. Overall, the book illustrates the deep complexities of the United States’ exercise of power and influence in the region.

This book undertakes an in-depth examination of the dynamics of commitment in U.S.-Southeast Asia strategy. Drawing on cases including the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam and Washington’s pivot to Asia amid China’s growing regional role, it constructs an original balance of commitment model to explain continuity and change in U.S.-Southeast Asia policy. Balance of commitment goes beyond balance of power approaches to explains how translating Southeast Asia’s importance in U.S. thinking into actual commitments has proven challenging for policymakers as it requires simultaneously calibrating adjustments to power shifts, threat perceptions and resource extraction. The book applies the balance of commitment approach to several practical case studies, based on hundreds of conversations with policymakers and experts in the United States and Southeast Asia, personal experiences across nearly two decades and primary and secondary source material across a half-century. The findings suggest that the challenges of U.S. commitment to the region are rooted not simply in differences between administrations or divergences in outlook between Washington and regional capitals, but tough balancing acts for U.S. policymakers in domestic politics and wider foreign policy. As such, shaping U.S. strategy in Southeast Asia and calibrating and sustaining commitment requires not just appreciating Southeast Asia’s significance, but committing to the region in ways that manage structural aspects of U.S. thinking, capabilities and resourcing.

This report , lays out reasons why Southeast Asia is a critically important but under-appreciated region when it comes to U.S. interests and U.S. competition with China, and recommends actions for the U.S. government, in the face of China’s growing influence in the region. The report explains why there is room, and good reason, for the United States to strengthen its already considerable economic, political, and strategic ties with the region. The report gives recommendations for U.S. policy.

How and why did the United States get involved in nation-building overseas, and how have these policies evolved? How has Washington understood the relationship between development abroad and security at home, and how has this translated into policy? What is the relationship between security, order and development in nation-building and stabilisation efforts? This book explores the processes through which nation-building approaches originated and developed over the last seven decades as well as the concepts and motivations that shaped them. Weaving together International Relations theory and a rich history drawing mainly on declassified documents, interviews and other primary sources, this book contributes to theoretical discussions of nation-building while offering a critique of Realist and Critical Security School analyses of US policy in the developing world. Ultimately, the book illuminates lessons relevant to today’s nation-building, crisis management, stability, 'good governance' and reconstruction missions.