Abstract
Will They Stay or Will They Go: Why Allies Choose to Anchor, Augment, Autonomize, or Accommodate
Zack Cooper, American Enterprise InstituteThe Trump administration has made alliance burden-sharing a top priority, but many of its actions appear to have disincentivized cooperation. How are Indo-Pacific states altering their alignment decisions amid China’s rise and the Trump administration’s new approach to alliance management? In particular, are regional states anchoring by redoubling their alliance commitments, augmenting by networking their friendships, autonomizing by de-aligning from the United States, or accommodating by embracing China? This paper will examine how U.S. allies and partners are responding to burden-sharing, thereby helping better calibrate U.S. strategy.
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