Improving U.S. Cooperation with Allies and Partners (Daniel Byman, Alexander Palmer, Audrey Aldisert, Henry H. Carroll, Cynthia R. Cook, Chris H. Park, and Seth G. Jones – CSIS)

The national security of the United States has long benefited from the vast and unrivaled global network of U.S. allies and partners. As strategic competition with China in the Indo-Pacific emerges as the primary driver of U.S. policy, this network will become even more important. Yet, for all the benefits the United States and its friends receive from cooperation, these relationships are often fraught and do not achieve their full potential. Problems with allies and partners show up in different ways in three key areas: intelligence sharing, coalition planning, and arms sales. This report brings together insights from four other publications in the CSIS Allies and Partners project to offer a deep dive into the problems that the United States has, or is likely to have, with allies and partners when they plan jointly, share intelligence, purchase weapons, or otherwise work together. The report offers detailed recommendations to help U.S. policymakers more effectively work with the allies and partners that will be central to U.S. strategy in Europe and especially in the Indo-Pacific in the coming decades.

Improving U.S. Cooperation with Allies and Partners