Time for a Change? Post-Cold War U.S. Grand Strategy in Northeast Asia   [open pdf - 5MB]

"Despite dramatic changes in the Northeast Asian security environment, America's regional grand strategy has continued to be guided by inertia. This thesis contends that a multipolar, balance of power system is emerging in Northeast Asia, and that the appropriate U.S. response is to adopt a grand strategy of 'selective engagement.' While the first half of this thesis focuses on U.S. security interests, the Northeast Asian threat environment, and the shortcomings of post-Cold War U.S. policies, the second half describes the diplomatic, military and economic attributes of a selective engagement grand strategy. Recognizing that the age of geo-politics has not yet ended in Northeast Asia, U.S. diplomacy would endeavor to maintain equilibrium and prevent the rise of a regional hegemon by casting the United States in the role of balancer, grand facilitator, and honest broker. Militarily, a selective engagement approach would capitalize on the strengths of a maritime grand strategy to provide more flexibility at a lower cost. Finally, a grand strategy of selective engagement would acknowledge the centrality of economics to national security by linking economic policies directly to political and military strategy."