EVENTS

Date:	Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Time:	10:30 AM -- 12:00 PM
Location:	Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

WASHINGTON, MARCH 18, 2009--The United Kingdom and Japan, two of America's most stalwart democratic allies, each offer complementary strengths to their U.S. alliances, AEI visiting scholar Paul Wolfowitz said at an AEI event on March 17. "The shared values have played a critical role in the alliance and in our joint regional efforts," he added. The U.K. has remained a steadfast wartime ally that the U.S. can depend on to provide military support, and Japan offers a valuable supplement to U.S. strength as an economic and trade powerhouse. Today, however, the historic affinity and reliability of these partners is in question because both nations are dealing with economic contraction, political and social transformation, and the different diplomatic priorities of the news U.S. administration.

Ted Bromund of the Heritage Foundation asserted that the U.K. is undergoing a social--but not political--transformation in which its values are being "europeanized," at turns isolationist and, whenever it does choose to engage the world, dependent on multilateral approaches. The United States may have to be prepared to "go it alone," he said, due to Britain's retreat from "strategic reality." The best way for Britain to remain a strong ally is for the United States to respect it as an invaluable partner, work with it to preserve NATO as the primary regional security structure for Europe, and push it to promote free trade and take leadership in the G20.

AEI resident scholar Michael Auslin warned that Japan may also turn inward in order to clean up its domestic house: the worst recession since World War II, a sclerotic and divided government, and pronounced population aging. "The U.S.-Japanese alliance is not adrift," Auslin reassured. "We can still depend on Japan, but we must be patient and not push it on what it is not willing or ready to do." Auslin asserted that Japan will not only endure as one of our most reliable regional and global alliances, but will strengthen its commitment in coming years.

Offering insight on U.S. expectations of allies, AEI resident fellow Thomas Donnelly said, "It is imperative our alliances provide access and legitimacy--access to project U.S. power abroad and political legitimacy principled on standing next to the U.S. as strong, democratic nations." The United States may have to adjust its alliance priorities to show greater willingness to share burdens and power, and to display more humility in the tasks it undertakes abroad. Joining Britain and Japan is India, Donnelly said. The emerging U.S.-Indian alliance is a natural link based on shared democratic values and mutual concerns over the rise of China and jihadist terrorism.

--LESLIE FORGACH

• Video, audio, and other event materials.
• Read an AEI report coauthored by Auslin: Securing Freedom: The U.S.-Japanese Alliance in a New Era.
• AEI's Asia-Pacific and European studies programs offer informative and current publications, events, and resources on U.S. relationships with our closest allies.