Elusive Balances: Shaping US-Southeast Asia Strategy

This book undertakes an in-depth examination of the dynamics of commitment in US-Southeast Asia strategy. Drawing on cases including the US withdrawal from Vietnam and Washington’s pivot to Asia amid China’s growing regional role, it constructs an original balance of commitment model to explain continuity and change in U.S-Southeast Asia policy. Balance of commitment goes beyond balance of power approaches—to explain how translating Southeast Asia’s importance in the US’ thinking into actual commitments has proven challenging for policymakers as it requires simultaneously calibrating adjustments to power shifts, threat perceptions, and resource extraction.