Description
Lost Decade is an essential guide for understanding the historic shift to Asia-centric geopolitics and its implications for America's present and future.Across the political spectrum, there is wide agreement that Asia should stand at the center of US foreign policy. But this worldview, first represented in the Obama Administration's 2011 "Pivot to Asia," marks a dramatic departure from the entire history of American grand strategy. More than a decade on, we now have the perspective to evaluate it in depth. In Lost Decade, Robert Blackwill and Richard Fontaine?two eminent figures in American foreign policy?take this long view. They conclude that while the Pivot's strategic logic is strong, there are few successes to speak of, and that we need a far more coherent approach to the Indo-Pacific region. They examine the Pivot through various lenses: situating it historically in the context of America's global foreign policy, revealing the inside story of how it came about, assessing the effort thus far, identifying the ramifications in other regions (namely Europe and the Middle East), and proposing a path forward.The authors stress that the US has far less margin for foreign policy error today than a decade ago. As the international order becomes more unstable, Blackwill and Fontaine argue that it is imperative that policymakers fully understand what the Pivot to Asia aimed to achieve?and where it fell short?in order to muster the resources, alliances, and resolve to preserve an open order in Asia and the world. Crafting an effective policy for the region, they contend, is crucial for preserving American security, prosperity, and democratic values.
Table of Contents
AcknowledgementsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: What's at Stake: The Pivot and American Vital National InterestsChapter 3: The Pivots Before the Pivot: The Clinton and Bush AdministrationsChapter 4: Rhetoric Meets Reality: Obama's Pivot to AsiaChapter 5: Turning on China: The Pivot During the Trump AdministrationChapter 6: Gaining Ground: Biden Policy Toward Asia and ChinaChapter 7: Please Stay: Europe and the PivotChapter 8: America Is Going Home: The Middle East and the PivotChapter 9: We Don't Want to Choose: The Indo-Pacific and the PivotChapter 10: We Will Build in Any Case: China Rises as the Pivot FlopsChapter 11: Balancing Military Power in Asia: Defense Policy and the PivotChapter 12: Pivoting from Offense to Defense: The Changing Role of Economic PolicyChapter 13: Competition and Cooperation: Transnational Issues and the PivotChapter 14: Conclusion: The US Pivot to Asia and American Grand StrategyNotes
