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Past Event
Seminar

Why the United States Prioritizes Europe or East Asia

Open to the Public

Speakers: Luis Simón, Professor in International Relations, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel 

Linde Desmaele, Ph.D. Candidate and Researcher, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel 

Why does the United States prioritize Europe or East Asia?  The 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy speaks of the erosion of America's competitive edge and warns about how Russian revisionism and China's rise threaten the balance of power in Europe and East Asia.  Drawing on insights from balance of power theory, the speakers provide a framework that explains why the United States prioritizes Europe or East Asia. Such a decision, they contend, hinges primarily on the degree to which a particular competitor is able to upset the regional balance across three key domains simultaneously: military, economic, and political-diplomatic. The speakers assess their framework against those competing explanations that may point to threat or bureaucratic politics as the main drivers of U.S. regional prioritization. To probe their hypothesis, they examine how the Europe vs. Asia dilemma played out during the Cold War and post–Cold War periods.

Please join us! Coffee, tea, and light refreshments provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

Date: Time: - Location: Taubman Building - Allison Dining Room, 5th Floor
Secretary of State George C. Marshall (3rd from right) talks with Harvard President James Bryant Conant on the steps of Widener Library during Commencement in June 1947. Marshall had announced the Marshall Plan that day in Harvard Yard.

About

Speakers: Luis Simón, Professor in International Relations, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel 

Linde Desmaele, Ph.D. Candidate and Researcher, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel 

Why does the United States prioritize Europe or East Asia? So far, students of U.S. grand strategy have failed to give this question the attention it deserves, let alone provide a convincing answer. But scholars cannot stay out of this debate any longer. The 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy speaks of the erosion of America's competitive edge and warns about how Russian revisionism and China's rise threaten the balance of power in Europe and East Asia. Both regions will surely remain important for the United States. But dwindling U.S. resources and the return of great power competition across more than one front compel Washington to think more strategically about how to prioritize.

Drawing on insights from balance of power theory, the speakers provide a framework that explains why the United States prioritizes Europe or East Asia. Such a decision, they contend, hinges primarily on the degree to which a particular competitor is able to upset the regional balance across three key domains simultaneously: military, economic, and political-diplomatic. The speakers assess their framework against those competing explanations that may point to threat or bureaucratic politics as the main drivers of U.S. regional prioritization. To probe their hypothesis, they examine how the Europe vs. Asia dilemma played out during the Cold War and post–Cold War periods.

Please join us! Coffee, tea, and light refreshments provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

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