Geostrategic context: bridging alliances in the shadow of Sino-American competition

Abstract

ABSTRACT The United States, its Allies, and its partners can adapt to the demands of the emerging strategic context by learning lessons from the tumultuous past five years, i.e. the COVID pandemic and related challenges across Western society, deterioration of relations between China and the West, and Russia’s illegal annexation and (re)-invasion of Ukraine. On the one hand, the bridging of alliances should reinforce existing frameworks by widening areas of cooperation across sectors, deepening collaboration in areas like technology transfer and industry, and lengthening the time horizon to plan and execute activities together – with the intent to insulate Western power against the combined strength of Russian and Chinese subversion and aggression. But on the other, policymakers must ruthlessly prioritize the allocation of scarce resources and development of partnerships with like-minded stakeholders.