Lost Decade : The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power

"The "Pivot to Asia" was first announced by the Obama administration in 2011 with the aim to redirect America's strategic focus to the Indo-Pacific. Not all went according to plan. This book tells the story of Washington's attempted reorientation and the simultaneous rise of Chinese power and assertiveness. It examines the impulse behind the Pivot, analyzes the challenges the policy posed for America's global presence and commitments, and investigates where and how it faltered. It assesses responses to the Pivot and strategic trendlines across countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and details China's aggressive actions throughout the 2010s. More than ten years after its announcement, a careful examination of the evidence indicates that the United States did not, in fact, pivot to Asia. This "lost decade" coincided with a massive expansion of Chinese power and assertiveness, a deepening of America's domestic divisions, and rising doubts in the world about US intentions, staying power, and competence. If the 1965 escalation in Vietnam and the 2003 invasion of Iraq represent America's greatest post-World War II failures of commission, Washington's collective failure to respond adequately to growing Chinese power across the 2010s stands as perhaps the most consequential US policy omission since 1945. The text draws on lessons from the policy's faulty implementation to propose a renewed US pivot to Asia" 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. 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 Fontainetwo eminent figures in American foreign policytake 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 achieveand where it fell shortin 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.