Casting the Shadow of Power: Explaining the Proliferation and Endurance of Overseas Military Basing
Open AccessStates keep maintaining and seeking overseas military bases despite many predictions of their decline and potential political and economic risks. This paper argues that states’ pursuit of overseas bases is motivated by different imperatives in different eras and contexts while all these incentives are rooted in their desire to muster their power. The case of U.S. basing in Japan illustrates the persistence of traditional basing logic that originated from the Cold-War preparation for wars. On the military dimension, access to overseas military posts enhances the projection of military power and improves military effectiveness, both promoting basing states’ capabilities to wage war. On the political dimension, basing strengthens alliance assurance by consolidating the credibility of security guarantees to defend allies should they are attacked. With the end of the Cold War that led to the change of the international structure and diversification of militaries’ missions, second-tier powers and rising powers begin to pursue bases according to emerging basing logic. In the cases of Turkey, Japan, and China, overseas bases are sought for the purpose of asserting great power status, participating in global governance, and safeguarding broad political and economic agendas, all of which promote states' hard and soft power. Basing states also mitigate potential backlashes by adapting and choosing proper forms of bases ranging from large permanent presence to cheaper and low-profile light footprints.
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