The Pacific Pivot and the West

The year 2011 witnessed a number of dramatic signs that the United States was shifting its strategic focus toward Asia. This shift, accompanied by a continued draw down of U.S. forces and diplomatic presence in Europe and a slight increase of a presence in Australia, was combined with U.S. concerns over the continued decline of European defense spending, accelerated by the serious debt crisis confronting Europe. It also reflected a U.S. preoccupation with China. In Europe there were also signs of a Pacific pivot. The West was facing a major turning point in terms of its sense of itself and of its role in a world that seems to be heading toward a post-Western disorder. This was clearly the time for the West to rediscover and revitalize itself by uniting rather than engaging in a race to the Eastern exits.