Washington’s Pacific policy puts Guam in the crosshairs
Plans to further militarize the U.S. territory put the island and its inhabitants at the center of U.S.-China tensions.
Kenneth Gofigan Kuper is Assistant Professor of Political Science (specializing in Security Studies and International Relations) at the University of Guam. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and a M.A. in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His dissertation focused on the complexities of military presence and security in Guam through the concept of “sustainable insecurity.” His research interests include the role of islands in global politics, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, militarization of the Pacific Islands, decolonization, and the reconceptualization of security. He can be reached at [email protected]
Plans to further militarize the U.S. territory put the island and its inhabitants at the center of U.S.-China tensions.
Can restraint in foreign policy include the goal of decolonization for Guam? Can it be in the U.S. national interest to allow Guam to choose between becoming a state of the union, a freely associated state such as the Republic of the Palau, or an independent country?