Dr Zack Cooper, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and Visiting Senior Fellow at RSIS, shared his views on the “American Strategy in a Fragmented Multipolar World” at an RSIS seminar held on 10 October 2024.
Dr Cooper’s main argument was that the world is shifting towards multipolarity as different parties gain power, away from the bipolar model that characterised the Cold War. He also described the new model as fragmented, owing to the uneven distribution of economic and technological models amid geopolitical competition. Countries need to be more flexible and responsive under this system, including the need for more coalition building and ad hoc partnerships that produce results. The US, too, must embrace this multipolar mindset as it seeks to engage the region.
Dr Cooper posited that while many in Singapore are worried about the US election, the election results will matter a lot less for American foreign policy than many think. Despite Donald Trump’s unpredictable policy approach, President Joe Biden continued with several of his policies in Asia, especially concerning China. Compared to a potential Kamala Harris administration, Trump would be more likely to resort to tariffs and demand that US allies pay for US support. On China, Dr Cooper noted that it’s difficult to predict how Trump would choose to engage Beijing, but observed a lack of expertise on China among Harris’ team.
Lastly, Dr Cooper noted that President Biden has struggled to improve US ties with Southeast Asia due to three structural constraints: i) US aversion to trade policy, ii) its tendency to view the region through a lens of competition with China, and iii) frustration over a lack of results from engaging ASEAN. He said that there are not many low-hanging fruit for the US in the region, though the critical mineral partnerships with countries such as Indonesia could be promising.