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.
