Why the United States Is the Only Superpower

With so many advantages and strengths, the U.S. towers over its rivals worldwide, despite misperceptions of the threats from China and Russia, says a Tufts political scientist

If you read the headlines on any given day, it seems like the United States is headed for a fall, as rivals China and Russia push their weight around.

But Michael Beckley, an associate professor of political science at Tufts, doesn’t buy that. To him, this is the era of the U.S. as sole superpower, and the country’s domination of the global order should continue for decades, at least.

In his recent book Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower, Beckley documents the multitude of U.S. strengths and its rivals’ many weaknesses. That’s not to say America couldn’t decline, due to domestic political divisions and corruption, and lose its sole superpower status. But overall, he says, it’s more likely to thrive.

“Institutionally, the United States is a mess, but China’s system is worse,” he said. “The United States is a flawed democracy, but China is an oligarchy ruled by a dictator for life.”

https://now.tufts.edu/2019/11/21/why-united-states-only-superpower

The Biden administration has made strengthening alliances and partnerships a foreign policy priority, highlighting the political, military, and economic benefits the United States receives from these relationships and the associated forward military presence. However, some policymakers and analysts have called for the United States to reduce its security commitments and overseas presence, particularly in a time of fiscal constraints. In this report, we consider one element of this debate: the purported economic benefits of these security policies. This report summarizes the existing research on the economic benefits of U.S. alliances and forward military presence, highlights gaps in this research where analysts should focus future study efforts, and offers a novel analysis of the economic impact of U.S. alliances. This report is the third in a series assessing competing claims about U.S. grand strategy.

https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA700/RRA739-5/RAND_RRA739-5.pdf

Here’s why the United States needs NATO.

Former US President Donald J. Trump sent ripples through the transatlantic community after sending letters to NATO allies demanding that they spend more on their own defense. Trump’s stance appears to stem from the belief—shared by many in the United States—that European allies have long taken advantage of American military protection without making a fair contribution to common security. This view rests on the assumption that the United States is paying for European defense and receiving nothing in return.

As the Atlantic Council’s Magnus Nordenman and the Center for Transatlantic Relations’ Hans Binnendijk write in their issue brief, NATO’s Value to the United States: By the Numbers, however, this is far from the case. Here is what they listed as the key benefits the United States gets from NATO:

NATO promotes peace within Europe and deters major US adversaries from launching large-scale conventional wars.

World War II cost the United States more than 400,000 lives and an estimated $4.1 trillion (in 2011 dollars). NATO has been key to preserving peace within the European continent and preventing other adversaries from launching a major conventional war.

According to credible sources, a major conventional war today could cost the United States upwards of $2.5 trillion per year.

NATO also promotes the American values of democracy and rule of law. Twenty-six of the twenty-nine NATO member states were labelled as “free” by Freedom House in 2018. By comparison, just 39 percent of the world’s population lives in “free” countries.

NATO is a force multiplier that gives the United States access to military tools in greater numbers than it can achieve by itself.

Non-US NATO members have 1,857,000 active duty service members and 1,232,290 reservists. The seven largest non-US NATO member armies have the same number of active duty troops as the United States (1.3 million).

Non-US NATO members can deploy 6,983 battle tanks, 34,000 armored vehicles, 2,600 combat aircraft, 382 attack helicopters, 252 major naval craft (including submarines), and 1,582 patrol and surface combatants.

France and the United Kingdom alone provide 30 percent of the Alliance’s ballistic-missile-submarine fleet.

NATO’s European members are beginning to host the first stages of the Alliance’s new ballistic-missile-defense system aimed at preventing long-range attacks by rogue states on the United States and Europe.

NATO members frequently share intelligence across the Alliance, aiding US operations and intelligence-gathering. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany alone add 40,000 intelligence personnel to the Alliance’s intelligence capabilities.

Non-US NATO members host twenty-eight US main operating bases in Europe, which cut down on the time needed for the United States to respond to a crisis and are critical for US missions in the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2009, for example, Germany contributed $800 million to offset and improve its US bases.

NATO undertakes numerous missions to protect member states and promote security around the globe.

NATO has five active missions around the world deploying 18,000 troops.

Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has completed thirteen missions including two in the United States (Hurricane Katrina relief and post-9/11 air reconnaissance patrol).

NATO allies contributed thousands of troops to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, including 38,000 in 2011, saving the United States an estimated $49 billion that year. The operation in Afghanistan was the first and only time NATO’s mutual defense commitment was invoked.

Non-US members sustained more than 1,000 combat deaths in Afghanistan, with an additional one hundred lost by NATO partners. Non-US NATO members contributed more than 60 percent of assets for Operation Unified Protector in Libya.

Non-US Coalition members flew one-third of all coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Operation Inherent Resolve.

NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield against piracy in the Gulf of Aden has been led at different times by Denmark, Spain, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Portugal.

NATO supports and protects the economies of Europe, which are critical to the health of the US economy.

US trade with the European Union reached $699 billion in 2015, only made possible because of the security and stability provided by NATO.

US exports to the former Communist NATO member states (not including East Germany) grew from $0.9 billion in 1989 to $9.4 billion in 2016.

Non-US NATO members rely heavily on the US defense industry to supply their forces. Currently, European members are planning to purchase as many as 500 new F-35s from the United States.

David A. Wemer is assistant director, editorial, at the Atlantic Council. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidAWemer.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/here-s-why-the-united-states-needs-nato/

COSTS AND BENEFITS TO THE UNITED STATES OF THE NATO INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.

THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE APRIL 1981.

https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/97th-congress-1981-1982/reports/1981_04_nato.pdf

Remember when NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in its history after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. Donald doesn't...

Donald Trump threatens NATO, says he would 'encourage' Russia to 'do whatever the hell they want'

On 4 October, once it had been determined that the attacks came from abroad, NATO agreed on a package of eight measures to support the United States. On the request of the United States, it launched its first ever anti-terror operation – **Eagle Assist** – from mid-October 2001 to mid-May 2002.

In 1949, the primary aim of the North Atlantic Treaty – NATO’s founding treaty – was to create a pact of mutual assistance to counter the risk that the Soviet Union would seek to extend its control of Eastern Europe to other parts of the continent.

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_110496.htm

Operation Inherent Resolve.

(A collection of archived material. The content available is no longer being updated and may no longer be applicable.)

Targeted Operations to Defeat ISIS.

One Mission, Many Nations.

Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve continues to work by, with and through regional partners to militarily defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in order to enable whole-of-coalition governmental actions to increase regional stability.

https://dod.defense.gov/OIR/