• Original research article
  • May 29, 2020
  • Open access

Barack Obama’s “Pivot to Asia” and the Issue of Strengthening Transatlantic Relations

Abstract

The study aims to analyse the impact that Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” had on the development of transatlantic relations. The article traces the premises of such a “pivot” on the part of the USA, as well as the European Union’s reaction to it. Moreover, the paper examines difference in military-political approaches of the European Union and the USA to the Southeast Asian Region. The study is novel as, despite the fact that there are many works devoted to studying transatlantic relations, there has been no research that would analyse their development from the perspective of forming relations with another region. Furthermore, a wide range of new foreign sources and references will be introduced into the Russian scientific discourse. The results prove that the Southeast Asian Region holds both economic and military-political interests for the USA, whereas the European Union considers the region from the geo-economic point of view. Differences in the approaches adopted by the European Union and the USA may further divide the NATO due to progressively diverging military-political goals of the European and the American parts of the alliance.

References

  1. Bechná Z., Thayer B. NATO’S NEW ROLE: The Alliance’s Response to a Rising China // Naval War College Review. 2016. Vol. 69. № 3. Р. 65-82.
  2. Bräuner O. Beyond the Arms Embargo: EU Transfers of Defense and Dual-Use Technologies to China // Journal of East Asia Studies. 2013. Vol. 13. № 3. Р. 457-482.
  3. Clinton H. America’s Pacific Century [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-pacific-century/ (дата обращения: 22.02.2020).
  4. Dassù M., Kupchan C. Pivot to a Trans-Atlantic Market [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/ 2013/06/14/opinion/global/pivot-to-a-trans-atlantic-market.html (дата обращения: 21.02.2020).
  5. Die Ära Obama. Erste Amtszeit / hrsg. von P. Lösche, A. Ostermann. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2012. 224 S.
  6. Guidelines on the EU’s foreign and security policy in East Asia [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://eeas.europa.eu/ archives/docs/asia/docs/guidelines_eu_foreign_sec_pol_east_asia_en.pdf (дата обращения: 20.02.2020).
  7. Iordan C. The Transatlantic Relation in Times of Multipolarity: European Security Implications // Connections. 2013. Vol. 13. № 1. P. 13-40.
  8. Obama B. Remarks by President Obama to the Australian Parliament [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://obamawhitehouse. archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/11/17/remarks-president-obama-australian-parliament (дата обращения: 21.02.2020).
  9. Presidency of Barack Obama: A First Historical Assessment / ed. by J. E. Zelizer. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018. 368 p.
  10. Stokes D., Whitman R. Transatlantic triage? European and UK ‘grand strategy’ after the US rebalance to Asia // International Affairs. 2013. Vol. 89. № 5. P. 1087-1107.
  11. Sverdrup-Thygeson B. et al. “For every action…” The American pivot to Asia and fragmented European responses // International Order and Strategy at BROOKINGS. 2016. 27 January. P. 1-29.

Author information

Zakhar Vasil'evich Pokudov

Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

Il'dar Kimovich Kalimonov

Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

About this article

Publication history

  • Received: April 9, 2020.
  • Published: May 29, 2020.

Keywords

  • международные отношения
  • США
  • ЕС
  • НАТО
  • Китай
  • Юго-Восточная Азия
  • трансатлантические взаимоотношения
  • international relations
  • USA
  • EU
  • NATO
  • China
  • Southeast Asia
  • transatlantic relations

Copyright

© 2020 The Author(s)
© 2020 Gramota Publishing, LLC

User license

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)