Burden-Sharing Between Western States in Deterring Russia and China: Case of Land Forces Usage
https://doi.org/10.24833/RJWPLN-2024-4-63-91
Abstract
Since the early 2020s, a parallel confrontation has been developing: the first between the Euro-Atlantic community and Russia; and the second between the United States and its partners, on the one hand, and China on the other. Western democracies have been forced to develop an approach to distributing the military burden, in particular with regard to the use of land forces (army). The latter suffered from military downsizing in the 1990s to the early 2010s, being partly in a state of dystrophy. This article studies these processes through the prism of the theories of building armed forces and alliances, studies these processes. The paper focuses on NATO as an institute, as well as the United States, and on Germany as a key European contributor to multilateral NATO forces. Key documents such as the new strategic concept of the Alliance and New NATO Force Model were adopted at the Madrid Summit in June 2022. The latter document has provided the Organization with a potential of 800,000 troops, the vast majority of which will be provided by its European member states. This means that the contribution of their troops to deterring Russia is of utmost importance, with the American role being politically significant, though practically limited. As a result, the United States has the strategic freedom to exploit a large part of its armed forces, specifically its ground forces, to contain China. The consensus on this distribution of responsibility formed in 2021, not 2014. This paper investigates the tactics of the United States as a key beneficiary to encourage its partners to adopt this scheme. The author compares the practical readiness of major European member states to use ground forces to deter Russia. The paper studies in detail the changes of the U.S. ground force groupings in Europe, especially in Eastern Europe and Germany, as well as in the Far East. It also examines the features of structuring military cooperation between Western countries and their partners in the Pacific Ocean in the context of containing China. The author concludes by outlining the general features of, and the prospects for, the evolution of this scheme in terms of the distribution of military responsibility.
About the Author
Philipp O. Trunov
Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INION RAN)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Philipp O. Trunov — Dr. of Sciences (Politics), Professor,
Moscow, 117997.
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Review
For citations:
Trunov P.O. Burden-Sharing Between Western States in Deterring Russia and China: Case of Land Forces Usage. Russian Journal of World Politics and Law of Nations. 2024;3(4):63-91. https://doi.org/10.24833/RJWPLN-2024-4-63-91
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