The U.S. military currently maintains approximately 750 bases in over 80 countries. This massive network of overseas military deployments has formed the backbone of America’s international position for the last 70 years.
In “Beyond the Wire: US Military Deployments and Host Country Public Opinion,” Michael Allen, associate professor of Political Science in Boise State’s School of Public Service, along with co-authors Michael Flynn, Carla Martinez Machain and Andrew Stravers, argue that the U.S. has entered into a domain of “competitive consent” due to competition from other major powers as well as pressures to limit overseas spending. The book is published by Oxford University Press.
Drawing from three years of surveying 42,000 respondents from 14 different countries, the authors suggest that an important factor for building support for U.S. overseas military presence is the interactions of American service members with community members in host countries.