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Opinion
Why US may regret pushing allies towards greater defence autonomy
The challenge for US policymakers in the aftermath of Trump’s presidency may be to restore US importance among like-minded countries
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Rob York is a Hawaii-based policy analyst.
The need for the United States to start offloading some of its global responsibilities did not begin with Donald Trump.
More than a decade ago, when working as a journalist and graduate student, I heard from political scientists and other observers of US foreign relations that allies would, at some point, need to rely less on Washington and start boosting their own defence budgets; this was particularly true of America’s European and East Asian allies, facing US adversaries in Russia and China.
Trump was, however, the first major post-Cold War presidential candidate to reject key planks of the US’ unipolar moment – campaigning on a promise that more of the country’s bilateral dealings would serve American interests directly, and accusing partners of taking advantage of US support.
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