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Twenty-First Century Partnerships: Examining U.S. Partnerships Worldwide

 
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When? This feed was archived on June 04, 2018 02:27 (6y ago). Last successful fetch was on April 23, 2018 17:54 (6y ago)

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Manage episode 181532733 series 1464954
Content provided by Center for Strategic and International Studies. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Center for Strategic and International Studies or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

The U.S. alliance structure seems almost invisible to most Americans, but it represents one of the wonders of the modern world. Through more than three-quarters of a century worth of effort, the United States has not only secured a leadership position for itself, but it also leads a team that commands between two-thirds and three-quarters of the world’s economic activity and a similar proportion of its military spending.

On May 31, 2017, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) convened a group to analyze the state of U.S. partnerships and identify key considerations for policymakers in charting a path forward.

Participants offered a range of views, yet expressed consensus on a few points.

  • A far-reaching partnership network will remain vital to fundamental U.S. interests.
  • Maintaining productive relationships is hard, resource-intensive work.
  • Traditional assumptions may not hold up under the new conditions that now prevail.

As former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen cautioned in his keynote address, “We can’t just keep doing some integrated version of what we’ve been doing in the past.”

What follows is a synthesis of key ideas put forward throughout the day’s discussions.

The U.S. partnership network provides the United States with a fundamental and singular strategic advantage, participants agreed. Alliances grant the United States a “huge asset” relative to Russia and China, which have no real allies, former Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams argued. James Jay Carafano, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, pointed out that U.S. partnerships are instrumental to delivering some of the stated foreign policy priorities of the Trump administration, including stability in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. In these areas, he argued, “There is no way the United States can protect its vital interests without an alliance structure.”

Alliances will become even more critical as the United States navigates a broader array of issue sets with an eroding margin of military and economic primacy. The bipolar, Cold-War era framework in which most threats were manifestations of a struggle against a single, powerful enemy has given way to a more complex strategic context. As former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman said, “We’ve reached the end of ‘The End of History.’” Mullen reflected that U.S. policy thinking is “still coming unraveled, tied to the Wall coming down in 1989...I think we underestimated how significant that glue was that held us together.” Today, multiplying demands for U.S. attention include the reemergence of great power competition, and the persistence of ideological competition by state and non-state actors. Meanwhile, accelerating information flows mean that this complex mix churns at a frenetic pace. Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman identified the velocity of decisionmaking cycles, more than the growing complexity of issues themselves, as a critical challenge for policymakers. Without clear priorities, officials risk being drowned by data. In Sherman’s words, “the ability to keep up on the issues simultaneously is virtually impossible.”

Looking ahead, tectonic shifts at the global level—the effects of automation on labor, a changing climate, and the reordering of the world’s demographic map—will require innovative solutions and international cooperation. These changes present opportunities for U.S. leadership, but they will also demand an ability to mobilize partners with common interests. The need for strong partnerships will grow not least because, as Mullen noted, “the United States can’t do it alone anymore.”

The network on which the United States will need to draw in this increasingly complex world extends well beyond formal treaty alliances, participants noted....

  continue reading

50 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 

Archived series ("Inactive feed" status)

When? This feed was archived on June 04, 2018 02:27 (6y ago). Last successful fetch was on April 23, 2018 17:54 (6y ago)

Why? Inactive feed status. Our servers were unable to retrieve a valid podcast feed for a sustained period.

What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.

Manage episode 181532733 series 1464954
Content provided by Center for Strategic and International Studies. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Center for Strategic and International Studies or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

The U.S. alliance structure seems almost invisible to most Americans, but it represents one of the wonders of the modern world. Through more than three-quarters of a century worth of effort, the United States has not only secured a leadership position for itself, but it also leads a team that commands between two-thirds and three-quarters of the world’s economic activity and a similar proportion of its military spending.

On May 31, 2017, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) convened a group to analyze the state of U.S. partnerships and identify key considerations for policymakers in charting a path forward.

Participants offered a range of views, yet expressed consensus on a few points.

  • A far-reaching partnership network will remain vital to fundamental U.S. interests.
  • Maintaining productive relationships is hard, resource-intensive work.
  • Traditional assumptions may not hold up under the new conditions that now prevail.

As former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen cautioned in his keynote address, “We can’t just keep doing some integrated version of what we’ve been doing in the past.”

What follows is a synthesis of key ideas put forward throughout the day’s discussions.

The U.S. partnership network provides the United States with a fundamental and singular strategic advantage, participants agreed. Alliances grant the United States a “huge asset” relative to Russia and China, which have no real allies, former Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams argued. James Jay Carafano, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, pointed out that U.S. partnerships are instrumental to delivering some of the stated foreign policy priorities of the Trump administration, including stability in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. In these areas, he argued, “There is no way the United States can protect its vital interests without an alliance structure.”

Alliances will become even more critical as the United States navigates a broader array of issue sets with an eroding margin of military and economic primacy. The bipolar, Cold-War era framework in which most threats were manifestations of a struggle against a single, powerful enemy has given way to a more complex strategic context. As former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman said, “We’ve reached the end of ‘The End of History.’” Mullen reflected that U.S. policy thinking is “still coming unraveled, tied to the Wall coming down in 1989...I think we underestimated how significant that glue was that held us together.” Today, multiplying demands for U.S. attention include the reemergence of great power competition, and the persistence of ideological competition by state and non-state actors. Meanwhile, accelerating information flows mean that this complex mix churns at a frenetic pace. Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman identified the velocity of decisionmaking cycles, more than the growing complexity of issues themselves, as a critical challenge for policymakers. Without clear priorities, officials risk being drowned by data. In Sherman’s words, “the ability to keep up on the issues simultaneously is virtually impossible.”

Looking ahead, tectonic shifts at the global level—the effects of automation on labor, a changing climate, and the reordering of the world’s demographic map—will require innovative solutions and international cooperation. These changes present opportunities for U.S. leadership, but they will also demand an ability to mobilize partners with common interests. The need for strong partnerships will grow not least because, as Mullen noted, “the United States can’t do it alone anymore.”

The network on which the United States will need to draw in this increasingly complex world extends well beyond formal treaty alliances, participants noted....

  continue reading

50 episodes

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