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Security First

The Lodestar for U.S. Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia?

University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Amitai Etzioni supports his case that U.S. foreign policy should be guided by security first, rather than democracy first, in part through domestic evidence of how the former has led to better outcomes and more fertile soil for democracy to take root. This article explores the validity of Etzioni's argument through examining varying domestic approaches and their outcomes in three Southeast Asian countries: Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The article then considers U.S. foreign policy in Southeast Asia and highlights what a consistent security-first approach would require, particularly with respect to the political crisis in Myanmar. The article concludes by assessing security first as a paradigm and its policy implication that the United States should seek to ally itself with illiberal moderates. It highlights areas in which further clarification would be beneficial and notes difficulties that could arise in an application of the principle.

Key Words: security first • U.S. foreign policy • Southeast Asia • illiberal moderates • ethnic relations

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