The Coming Age of Strategic Autonomy

Abstract: We are entering a new age. That new age is dominated by two major powers – the United States and China – and a rising number of countries able to protect and assert themselves as well as influence, even shape the course of international events. That new age is thus increasingly multipolar and different from the bipolar age of the Cold War, which was ruled by the United States and the Soviet Union, and the unipolar age of the post-Cold War, which had Washington at the helm. Its key feature is strategic autonomy. That new age has far-reaching implications for the United States, and Washington has opportunities to shape it to its liking, if it makes the right decisions.

David Santoro is the President and CEO of the Pacific Forum. He specializes in strategic and security issues with a regional focus on Asia and Europe. Dr Santoro’s current interests focus on great-power dynamics, US alliances, and deterrence, particularly the role of China in an era of nuclear multipolarity. In 2021, Lynne Rienner published his volume on US-China Nuclear Relations – The Impact of Strategic Triangles. Dr Santoro also leads several unofficial strategic dialogues. Before joining Pacific Forum, he worked on similar issues in France, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In the spring of 2010, Dr Santoro was also a visiting fellow at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation and, in 2010-2011, he was a Stanton nuclear security fellow at the Institute for International Strategic Studies in London.

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