1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
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The United Kingdom and Japan are the United States’ two most important allies, the anchors of U.S. defense strategy in Europe and Asia. Today, however, both are sinking deeper into recession, suffering rising public distrust of their political systems, and facing limits on the resources they can devote to their
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armed forces. With the geopolitical challenge of China in the East and the reemergence of Russia in the West comes uncertainty about the United States’ key alliance relationships and security strategies. Political rhetoric praising the alliances cannot mask the possibility that London and Tokyo may be increasingly unable to play the type of international role Washington desires.
AEI’s Paul Wolfowitz will moderate a discussion with the Institute’s Michael Auslin and Ted R. Bromund of the Heritage Foundation about the future of the U.S.-U.K. and the U.S.-Japanese relationships, discussing the coherence of their regional and global strategies and considering challenges to the United States posed by the decline of its closest allies.
| 10:15 a.m. |
Registration | |
| 10:30 | Panelists: | Michael Auslin, AEI |
| Ted R. Bromund, Heritage Foundation | ||
| Discussant: | Thomas Donnelly, AEI |
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| Moderator: | Paul Wolfowitz, AEI | |
12:00 p.m. |
Adjournment |
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
202-862-7160
Leslie.Forgach@aei.org
WASHINGTON, MARCH 18, 2009--The United Kingdom and Japan, two of America's most stalwart democratic allies, each offer complementary strengths to their U.S. alliances, AEI visiting scholar Paul Wolfowitz said at an AEI event on March 17. "The shared values have played a critical role in the alliance and in our joint regional efforts," he added. The U.K. has remained a steadfast wartime ally that the U.S. can depend on to provide military support, and Japan offers a valuable supplement to U.S. strength as an economic and trade powerhouse. Today, however, the historic affinity and reliability of these partners is in question because both nations are dealing with economic contraction, political and social transformation, and the different diplomatic priorities of the news U.S. administration.
Ted Bromund of the Heritage Foundation asserted that the U.K. is undergoing a social--but not political--transformation in which its values are being "europeanized," at turns isolationist and, whenever it does choose to engage the world, dependent on multilateral approaches. The United States may have to be prepared to "go it alone," he said, due to Britain's retreat from "strategic reality." The best way for Britain to remain a strong ally is for the United States to respect it as an invaluable partner, work with it to preserve NATO as the primary regional security structure for Europe, and push it to promote free trade and take leadership in the G20.
AEI resident scholar Michael Auslin warned that Japan may also turn inward in order to clean up its domestic house: the worst recession since World War II, a sclerotic and divided government, and pronounced population aging. "The U.S.-Japanese alliance is not adrift," Auslin reassured. "We can still depend on Japan, but we must be patient and not push it on what it is not willing or ready to do." Auslin asserted that Japan will not only endure as one of our most reliable regional and global alliances, but will strengthen its commitment in coming years.
Offering insight on U.S. expectations of allies, AEI resident fellow Thomas Donnelly said, "It is imperative our alliances provide access and legitimacy--access to project U.S. power abroad and political legitimacy principled on standing next to the U.S. as strong, democratic nations." The United States may have to adjust its alliance priorities to show greater willingness to share burdens and power, and to display more humility in the tasks it undertakes abroad. Joining Britain and Japan is India, Donnelly said. The emerging U.S.-Indian alliance is a natural link based on shared democratic values and mutual concerns over the rise of China and jihadist terrorism.
--LESLIE FORGACH
- Video, audio, and other event materials.
- Read an AEI report coauthored by Auslin: Securing Freedom: The U.S.-Japanese Alliance in a New Era.
- AEI's Asia-Pacific and European studies programs offer informative and current publications, events, and resources on U.S. relationships with our closest allies.
Michael Auslin studies U.S.-Asian relations, Japanese foreign policy, and Asian security as a resident scholar and director of Japan studies at AEI. Previously, Mr. Auslin was an associate professor of history and a senior research fellow at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University. He has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund, and a Fulbright and Japan Foundation Scholar. His writings on Japan and Japanese diplomacy include the books Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy (Harvard University Press, 2006) and Japan Society: Celebrating a Century, 1907-2007 (Japan Society, 2007).
Ted R. Bromund is the Margaret Thatcher Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. From 1999 to 2008, he was the associate director of International Security Studies at Yale University. In that capacity, he was responsible for event planning and organization, report and grant writing, fundraising, and fellowship programs. He was also a lecturer in history and, from 2004, a lecturer in international affairs, with responsibility for designing, administering, and teaching the core security studies curriculum in Yale's international relations MA program. He spoke regularly to campus, alumni, and other audiences on historical and contemporary topics. Mr. Bromund has published articles and reviews in a variety of scholarly journals and is a regular commentator on current affairs in Commentary and the Yorkshire Post (UK).
Thomas Donnelly is a resident fellow in defense and security policy studies at AEI. He is the author, with Frederick W. Kagan, of Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power (AEI Press, May 2008); the coeditor, with Gary J. Schmitt, of Of Men and Materiel: The Crisis in Military Resources (AEI Press, 2007); and the author of The Military We Need (AEI Press, 2005), Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Strategic Assessment (AEI Press, 2004), and several other books. From 1995 to 1999, he was policy group director and a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee. Mr. Donnelly also served as a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He is a former editor of Armed Forces Journal, Army Times, and Defense News.
Paul Wolfowitz is a visiting scholar in foreign and defense policy studies at AEI, where he studies development issues. He has spent more than three decades in public service and higher education. Most recently, he served as president of the World Bank and deputy secretary of defense. Prior to that, he was dean and professor of international relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He has also served as under secretary of defense for policy (1989-93) and U.S. ambassador to Indonesia (1986-89). He was the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs (1982-86) and director of policy planning at the Department of State. He worked as deputy assistant secretary of defense for regional programs at the Department of Defense and as special assistant to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1973-77).
