How Asia Learned to Live with “America First”

But the United States’ Asian allies have been far less pessimistic than their European counterparts. TOO CLOSE TO COMFORTSince the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, western Europe has enjoyed a peace dividend. In this view, the United States has become weaker, less resilient, and more socially divided because of a misplaced desire to almost single-handedly underwrite a system that benefits others more than the United States. Russia’s economy is about one-tenth the size of that of western Europe, and its military spending is about one-third. Allies in western Europe and Asia will grow even more vulnerable to changes in U.S. policy and more dependent on American power for protection.