Overview
Provides a comprehensive overview of the structural challenges behind U.S. commitment to Southeast Asia
Fleshes out a new framework for understanding and predicting U.S. commitment in Southeast Asia
Includes original interviews and firsthand policy accounts delving into certain episodes in U.S.–SE Asia policy
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book undertakes an in-depth examination of the dynamics of commitment in U.S.-Southeast Asia strategy. Drawing on cases including the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam and Washington’s pivot to Asia amid China’s growing regional role, it constructs an original balance of commitment model to explain continuity and change in U.S.-Southeast Asia policy. Balance of commitment goes beyond balance of power approaches to explains how translating Southeast Asia’s importance in U.S. thinking into actual commitments has proven challenging for policymakers as it requires simultaneously calibrating adjustments to power shifts, threat perceptions and resource extraction.
The book applies the balance of commitment approach to several practical case studies, based on hundreds of conversations with policymakers and experts in the United States and Southeast Asia, personal experiences across nearly two decades and primary and secondary source material across a half-century. The findings suggest that the challenges of U.S. commitment to the region are rooted not simply in differences between administrations or divergences in outlook between Washington and regional capitals, but tough balancing acts for U.S. policymakers in domestic politics and wider foreign policy. As such, shaping U.S. strategy in Southeast Asia and calibrating and sustaining commitment requires not just appreciating Southeast Asia’s significance, but committing to the region in ways that manage structural aspects of U.S. thinking, capabilities and resourcing.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran is an analyst and educator focused on Southeast Asia, politics and security issues in the Asia-Pacific and U.S. foreign policy in the region. He is currently a fellow at the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars based in Washington, D.C. and a senior columnist at The Diplomat, one of Asia’s leading current affairs magazines. A political scientist by training, he has previously held roles linked to think tanks, media, business, and government, conducting field research, consulting, writing and teaching on these issues for nearly two decades and widely publishing policy insights, research and commentary in the United States and in Southeast Asia.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Elusive Balances
Book Subtitle: Shaping U.S.-Southeast Asia Strategy
Authors: Prashanth Parameswaran
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6612-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-16-6611-7Published: 14 January 2022
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-16-6614-8Published: 15 January 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-981-16-6612-4Published: 13 January 2022
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 211
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 7 illustrations in colour
Topics: Foreign Policy, Asian Politics