Debates within the American foreign policy establishment over the country’s grand strategy have grown increasingly contentious in recent years. This ferment has been driven forward by a posited power shift in the international system from the United States to China, US missteps in the “forever wars” of the Greater Middle East, a perception that the American public has grown wary of global engagement, as well as deepening polarisation in US domestic politics between the Republican and Democratic camps.
This FIIA seminar zooms in on the key questions currently animating US grand-strategic debates against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression in Europe and in anticipation of the approaching US presidential election season. In what ways might the contours of strategic competition between the US and its allotted great-power rivals China and Russia evolve, and what implications could this have for US allies and partners, including Finland? What are the prospects of US commitment to international institutions and free trade in the coming years? How might the United States prioritise between the European and Indo-Pacific theatres in the future?
The event is a joint endeavor by the Center on US Politics and Power (CUSSP) and FIIA’s research project “Finland’s evolving role in Euro-Atlantic security”.