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Pleased to report that our latest in-depth @Diplomacy_Peace
Study on the nature, history, & drivers of global U.S. alliance system is now published.
The Blob treats these alliance networks as Sacred Cows to be maintained in perpetuity. Why?
Read on peacediplomacy.org
Pleased to report that our latest in-depth @Diplomacy_Peace
Study on the nature, history, & drivers of global U.S. alliance system is now published.
The Blob treats these alliance networks as Sacred Cows to be maintained in perpetuity. Why?
Read on peacediplomacy.org
US alliances today are maintained out of a perception of their value among the foreign policy establishment rather their actual contribution to core US interests.
US Alliances are identified with US global hegemony & both are seen as ends in themselves. We need a phenomenology.
US Alliances are identified with US global hegemony & both are seen as ends in themselves. We need a phenomenology.
Despite many valid critiques by restrainers & realists over the material costs of permanent alliances & risks of US entrapment in foreign conflicts, the Blob favors Continuity over change.
Why? Bc there are non-material factors at play here that are wedded to the status quo.
Why? Bc there are non-material factors at play here that are wedded to the status quo.
IR Realism has a blindspot when it comes to ideology or behavioral systems that are not strictly utilitarian. But a realist frame cannot overlook the reality of human nature & social incentives.
US alliances have totemic value to the Blob bc they signal hegemonic prestige.
US alliances have totemic value to the Blob bc they signal hegemonic prestige.
Their proliferation globally masks US decline behind ritualistic lip service & pomp + reinforces the Blob's 'elite' status (at home & abroad).
The illusion of US hegemony (helped by an everexpanding 🌍alliance system) reaffirms Blob's prestige & reassures them of their position.
The illusion of US hegemony (helped by an everexpanding 🌍alliance system) reaffirms Blob's prestige & reassures them of their position.
In addition to this megalothymic psychology, factors such as class & professional interests, institutional utility & gatekeeping role of alliance orthodoxy, Manichaean liberal ideology, a globalist cognitive bias all contribute to maintaining the complex web of US alliances.
In the post-1989 era, this situation led to the spread of a special type of alliance we call the 'Trojan Alliance' between the US and a class of more peripheral states in multiple regions. Under multipolarity these states act as regional balancers convinced of US backing.
Like the Trojan Horse of fame, the true purpose of alliances of this kind is initially misleading—for the power of the stronger ally (i.e., the US) serves the weaker partner, for whom the alliance is existential.
The dynamic is ripe for geopolitical arbitrage & moral blackmail.
The dynamic is ripe for geopolitical arbitrage & moral blackmail.
Bc Trojan alliances need tbe threat of the use of force & military intervention by the US.
In a multipolar world, they significantly increase the risks of regional conflicts with civilizational anchors (esp revisionist Middle Powers) which could then spiral into global wars.
In a multipolar world, they significantly increase the risks of regional conflicts with civilizational anchors (esp revisionist Middle Powers) which could then spiral into global wars.
In classic statecraft, alliances are interest-based, temporary, relative & regional arrangements.
US founders like George Washington knew this + thought permanent alliances & unconditional special relations with foreign nations will undermine the republic & the public interest.
US founders like George Washington knew this + thought permanent alliances & unconditional special relations with foreign nations will undermine the republic & the public interest.
In the 20th century, esp due to the Cold War paradigms, US reconceptualized its idea alliances as permanent, performative, ideological, & global fixtures.
In Trojan Alliances in particular, security gains are public goods for regional balancers but private goods for the Blob.
In Trojan Alliances in particular, security gains are public goods for regional balancers but private goods for the Blob.
As we write, "the private interests & proclivities of America’s imperial caste rather than the compass of the national interest" created the contemporary US alliance structure.
To Re-abide by that golden compass, America must first dispel the myths that underpin this system.
To Re-abide by that golden compass, America must first dispel the myths that underpin this system.
I want to thank my co-authors @polanskydj & Coleman Hopkins; Prof Marco Cesa whose Book Allies yet Rivals inspired us & for his guidance throughout; @ChrisDMott for his wealth of historical knowledge; & friends at Stand Together especially @reidtsmith @hakirk7 for their support.
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