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Leadership and Commitment: The United States of America and the Future of the Northeast Asian Order *
Author(s) -
Atkinson Carol,
Chiozza Giacomo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
pacific focus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.172
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1976-5118
pISSN - 1225-4657
DOI - 10.1111/j.1976-5118.2011.01066.x
Subject(s) - prosperity , political science , order (exchange) , politics , democracy , middle east , east asia , development economics , political economy , economy , economic growth , china , sociology , economics , law , finance
Since the end of World War II, peace, prosperity, and democracy have flourished in Northeast Asia in large part due to the USA's willingness to devote extraordinary resources and exert leadership through a series of bilateral commitments to the nations of the region. In the past two decades, crises in other parts of the world have captured US attention and resources: in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union and now in the Middle East. What are the consequences of these demands on how the USA envisions its future role in Northeast Asia? We assess these consequences by evaluating the strategies that the USA has elaborated for the region and how those strategies resonate with people in the USA and in the region. Our analysis focuses on two questions: How does the USA envision its role in Northeast Asia? Does the USA have the political will to bear the costs to fulfill this role? We argue that despite increased demands on its attention and resources, the USA remains firmly committed to its leadership role in the region and the US‐centric security architecture of bilateral institutions. Multilateral institutions will remain relatively ineffective and inefficient in addressing the most pressing regional issues.