Untangling the Web of US Alliances

Many view the United States’ vast network of peacetime alliances as an immutable pillar of American influence and power abroad, ensuring both national security and global peace. But in the process of affirming this view over decades, Washington lost sight of the fundamental meaning, purpose, and value of alliances. At a time when nearly all friendly nations are called allies, and many allies are treated as rivals, it is more critical than ever to reexamine American alliances and confront a few basic questions: What does it mean to be a U.S. ally? Which countries are even U.S. allies? And – most critical of all – do alliances actually advance U.S. security and prosperity?

The Stimson Center’s Assessing American Alliances project aims to answer these questions and facilitate informed debate on U.S. alliance strategy. This one-hour showcase event will feature Stimson experts discussing key findings from two of the project’s central products: a report on the state of U.S. alliances, informed in part by fieldwork and a survey of U.S. allies, and an interactive map of the United States’ global alliance network.

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Host or Publisher The Stimson Center