ABSTRACT
Relative American economic decline and increased prosperity among many NATO countries and Japan led to greater U.S. pressure in the 1980s for these allies to share the burdens of Western defense. U.S. Congressional and Defense Department reports continually emphasized the need for NATO and Japanese allies to contribute to the "common defense" on a more equitable basis. 1 U.S. burden-sharing pressures focused particularly on increasing allied financial contributions to U.S. forces and facilities stationed within their borders.
