Stuart, Douglas. Pivoting from Obama to Trump in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. In Handbook on the United States in Asia: Managing Hegemonic Decline, Retaining Influence in the Trump Era, edited by Andrew T.H. Tan, 468-487. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018.

The Obama Administration's Pivot (or rebalance) to the Indo-Asia-Pacific (IAP) region was the closest thing to a grand strategy that American policymakers have achieved since the end of the Cold War. It was an appropriate response to the tectonic shift in global economic power from west to east (Global Trends 2010). In accordance with the U.S. Army's guidelines for the formulation of a grand strategy, the Pivot was based on a realistic balance between ends, ways and means and relied upon multilateral, bilateral and unilateral initiatives to bolster American influence in the IAP region (Bartholomees 2012). America's hub and spokes network of treaties and defense agreements served as the foundation for Obama's outreach to the nations of the IAP region. Over time the U.S. succeeded in bolstering this network of defense pacts, with new forms of security cooperation, including a new base access agreement with Australia, port access arrangements with Singapore, the Philippines and India, and enhancements in the military capabilities of America's two most important IAP allies, Japan and South Korea (Stuart 2016). The Obama team also relied on diplomatic, economic and informational elements of American power to achieve its goals.

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