Time for a Change? Post-Cold War U.S. Grand Strategy in Northeast Asia.
Abstract
Despite dramatic changes in the Northeast Asian security environment, America's regional grand strategy has continued to be guided by inertia. This thesis contends that a multipolar, balance of power system is emerging in Northeast Asia, and that the appropriate U.S. response is to adopt a grand strategy of selective engagement. The first half of this thesis focuses on U.S. security interests, the Northeast Asian threat environment, and the shortcomings of post-Cold War U.S. policies. The second half describes the diplomatic, military and economic attributes of a selective engagement grand strategy. Recognizing that the age of geopolitics has not yet ended in Northeast Asia, U.S. diplomacy would endeavor to maintain equilibrium and prevent the rise of a regional hegemony by casting the United States in the role of balancer, grand facilitator, and honest broker. Militarily, a selective engagement approach would capitalize on the strengths of a maritime grand strategy to provide more flexibility at a lower cost. Finally, a grand strategy of selective engagement would acknowledge the centrality of economics to national security by linking economic policies directly to political and military strategy. (RWJ)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA293095
Entities
People
- Christopher A. Rodeman
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School