Lachezar Angelov

Overview

PhD Research:

American Base Strategy in Asia-Pacific Region During the Last 35 Years: The Case Studies of Diego Garcia, Philippines and Okinawa.

The research project will focus on American foreign and security policy in Asia-Pacific during the last 35 years, specifically emphasizing the military and geopolitical value of strategic positioning in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific. In particular, the thesis will explore the military deployments and developments within the American base strategy, highlighting the case studies of Diego Garcia, the Philippines and Okinawa. As a consequence, the fundamental objective of the assignment is to establish an exceptional analysis, creating a unique connection and correlation between the case studies, specifically focusing on the relations between the Asian partners and Washington within an established time frame.

In particular, the thesis will explore and analyze four significant periods within American Foreign Policy during the last 35 years, which have considerably influenced past, present and future base strategies employed by Washington in the region. The essential moments are: the beginning of the 1980s under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan; the Post-Cold War under Presidents George H. Bush and Bill Clinton; September 11 2001, under George W. Bush and the ‘pivot’ to Asia, under the Obama Administration.

The project will analyze and employ a diachronic comparison, in order to determine and evaluate which of these crucial episodes in American Foreign Policy have instigated the continuous strategic shift from Europe to Asia-Pacific. Incorporated with detailed research from the case studies, the Doctoral assignment will provide an analytical combination of a precise description of the geostrategic and geopolitical environment in Asia-Pacific, combined with a historic exploration of the periods which have affected the evolution of American military positioning in the region. The essential objective of the assignment is to make a significant contribution to the knowledge, accumulated within political, military and strategic studies.