The authors assess trends in how U.S. allies and partners view the evolving competition with China and Russia and identify opportunities that the United States and the Department of the Air Force (DAF) can leverage for security cooperation (SC). Ensuring that DAF organizations incorporate these countries' perspectives into planning can help the DAF more effectively direct its SC activities and resources in an era of strategic competition.

Insights on U.S. Ally and Partner Views of Strategic Competition

Implications for the Department of the Air Force

Jennifer D. P. Moroney, Cristina L. Garafola, Beth Grill, David E. Thaler, Andrew Radin, Alison K. Hottes, Irina A. Chindea, Ashley L. Rhoades, Jeffrey W. Hornung, Stephen Webber, et al.

ResearchPublished Sep 13, 2024

Cover: Insights on U.S. Ally and Partner Views of Strategic Competition
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The authors assess trends in how U.S. allies and partners view the evolving competition with China and Russia and identify opportunities that the United States and the Department of the Air Force (DAF) can leverage for cooperation and coalition-building. Although many countries share U.S. concerns, their perspectives of the threat posed by China and Russia vary depending on their region, history, economy, and other factors. Current U.S. and DAF security cooperation (SC) planning efforts focus on how countries can align their policies, priorities, and investments with those of the United States. Ensuring that DAF organizations also incorporate these countries' perspectives into planning can help the DAF more effectively direct its SC activities and resources in an era of strategic competition. This research was completed in September 2022. It has not been subsequently revised.

Key Takeaways

  • Appreciating that allies and partners have changing and dynamic views is important to SC planning.
  • Attracting (and retaining) allies and partners is an ongoing task to pursue with all partners, not only with nascent ones.
  • Embracing more-creative SC approaches can help the DAF to attract and retain allies and partners.
  • Knowing when to cut losses (temporarily) can help the DAF prioritize SC resources and possibly avoid potential backfire in extreme cases.

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Moroney, Jennifer D. P., Cristina L. Garafola, Beth Grill, David E. Thaler, Andrew Radin, Alison K. Hottes, Irina A. Chindea, Ashley L. Rhoades, Jeffrey W. Hornung, Stephen Webber, Maggie Habib, Kotryna Jukneviciute, and Melissa Bauman, Insights on U.S. Ally and Partner Views of Strategic Competition: Implications for the Department of the Air Force. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1737-1.html.
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The research reported here was commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, and conducted within the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE.

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