Eine Nachbarschaft zwischen Zivilisationen

In a new essay for Hoover’s Global Policy and Strategy Initiative, [James Timbie](https://www.hoover.org/profiles/james-timbie) and [Adm. James O. Ellis Jr.](https://www.hoover.org/profiles/james-o-ellis-jr) detail how the US can boost its diplomatic, economic, and security relationships with friendly states in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. They write that it is imperative these states—including Kazakhstan, Armenia, Moldova, and Georgia—have the tools they need to “resist coercion by Russia and China” and remain free to choose to enter into agreements with the US, NATO, or the EU. They argue the cost to the US in terms of offering bilateral defense cooperation to these states is low, while the potential benefits could be vast. “The benefits could include trade and investment opportunities, access to energy and critical materials resources, sales of military equipment, cooperation on counterterrorism, and increased US presence and influence in a region traditionally dominated by Russia and receiving growing attention from China,” they write.