Asien nach Amerika: Wie die US-Strategie scheiterte – und den Vorteil an China abgab

[Excerpt from essay by Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a Lecturer at Princeton University. Between 2005 and 2008, he served at the U.S. Department of Defense and on the National Security Council.]

Today, Washington has a “Lippmann gap” in Asia: means have failed to match ends for so long that U.S. commitments have lost credibility. The longer the gap between pledges and action is allowed to remain, the greater the risk of a disastrous failure of deterrence.

The pivot to Asia was based on the assumption that U.S. power was capable of fostering strong regional economies, governments, and militaries that could prevent China from overturning the regional order. Today, however, Washington is not seriously contesting Beijing’s economic and political influence across much of the region, particularly on the Asian mainland.