Abstract

Southeast Asia is a place of not only great oppor­tunity for the United States but also significant risk. Latent economic dynamism could help drive global growth, but illiberalism and domestic security chal­lenges could pre­vent the region from meeting its potential. A majority of the region’s 635 million residents live in democ­racies, but human rights abuses remain a significant concern. The American-led liberal international order, which has created the conditions in which a number of South­east Asian states have thrived, is now under threat with China acting assertively in nearby waters and challenging commonly held notions of freedom of the seas. To grapple with these opportunities and challenges, the United States should implement a strategy with security, economic, and governance pillars. Should the United States succeed, it will ensure a regional balance of power favorable to the United States and its friends and allies, shore up the liberal international order, deepen prosperity at home and in Southeast Asia, and advance freedom in the region.

About the Author

Michael Mazza is a visiting fellow in foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he analyzes US defense policy in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese military modernization, cross–Taiwan Strait relations, and Korean Peninsula security. Mazza has contributed to numerous AEI studies on American grand strategy in Asia, US defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific, and Taiwanese defense strategy, and his published work includes pieces in The Wall Street Journal Asia, Los Angeles Times, and Foreign Affairs. Mazza was recognized as a 2010-11 Foreign Policy Initiative Future Leader. Mazza has an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced and International Studies and a B.A. in history from Cornell University. He has lived in China where he attended the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Copy of the report can be download here: An-American-Strategy-for-Southeast-Asia