Global Swing States and U.S. Strategy
Defending and renewing the global order is a priority for the United States and Europe. An important part of this effort will be accomplished if transatlantic partners can successfully engage four “global swing states” — Brazil, India, Indonesia and Turkey — in the management of global issues, because of their geopolitical and economic status, as well as their desire to have a stronger voice in the various international forums. Successful engagement of these nations will be key to preserving the international order and U.S. leadership.
At a time of growing challenges to international peace and prosperity and intensifying resource constraints, working with emerging powers to defend and renew the global order has become increasingly central to U.S. strategy. Compared to the Asia “pivot” unveiled during the first Obama administration, U.S. engagement of emerging powers has generated little publicity and comparatively modest interest from longtime U.S. partners in Europe. Yet the stakes are high. The choices made by a handful of economically dynamic, strategically located, rising democracies — “global swing states” — may decisively nudge the international order toward renewal or fragmentation. If the United States, its transatlantic allies, and these key emerging powers can come together to strengthen a system on which all depend, they are more likely to thrive. If the global order instead becomes less cohesive, they — and the broader world — will suffer the consequences.
Download the full analysis
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
Global Swing States and U.S. Strategy
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programsFind out more
Discover all our analysesKamala Harris's Economic Program
Since receiving the Democratic nomination in the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside in the 2024 American presidential race, Vice-President Kamala Harris has been striving to define her own policy platform to attract voters in the limited time remaining before the November 5th election. Since the economy is a central issue for American voters, Harris developed several propositions in that area.
IRA: Towards Clean Hydrogen Leadership in the U.S.
Although late in adopting clean hydrogen (H2) and defining a national strategy–a draft was presented by the Department of Energy (DOE) in September 2022–, the United States (US) has strongly reinforced its support to clean hydrogen with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022.
Convince and Coerce: U.S. Interference in Technology Exchanges Between its Allies and China
The tough-on-China policy adopted by the Trump and Biden administrations has – and will increasingly have – important consequences for Washington’s allies, both on their infrastructure choices (5G, submarine cables...) and on their technological exchanges with China.
AUKUS Rocks the Boat in the Indo-Pacific, And It’s Not Good News
For anyone who still harbored doubts, Washington made crystal clear from the announcement of the new trilateral alliance with Australia and the UK (AUKUS) that countering China is its number one priority, and that it will do whatever it takes to succeed. Much has been said about the consequences of AUKUS on the French-US relations, but the strategic implications for the Indo-Pacific nations (including France), and for China especially, are also critical to consider.