Abstract
Measured in terms of both economic and military power, the three weightiest
actors in international politics today are the United States, China, and the
European Union. The first two are states; the last is union of states that is
more than a confederation but less than a federation. China is growing more
rapidly economically than the other two, and is significantly modernizing
its military power. The European Union has been coalescing to a degree
politically and is proceeding to develop a more coherent, if not integrated,
defense posture and foreign policy. The United States is the central actor in
this triangular configuration, not only because it is the weightiest in both the
economic and military dimensions, but also because it has extensive military
entanglements with the other two that the latter do not have with each other.
The United States is allied with twenty-six European states through NATO,
and it is a military rival with China because a significant part of America’s
defense budget, military forces, and contingency planning is directed at
China’s growing military power in East Asia. China and the European Union
have extensive economic relations, but, to date, no military relations of any
consequence.