Beyond the Wire: US Military Deployments and Host Country Public Opinion (BRIDGING THE GAP SERIES)

In a time where US deployments are uncertain, this book shows how US service members can either build the necessary support to sustain their presence or create added animosity towards the military presence.

The United States stands at a crossroads in international security. The backbone of its international position for the last 70 years has been the massive network of overseas military deployments. However, the US now faces pressures to limit its overseas presence and spending. In Beyond the Wire, Michael Allen, Michael Flynn, Carla Martinez Machain, and Andrew Stravers argue that the US has entered into a "Domain of Competitive Consent" where the longevity of overseas deployments relies upon the buy-in from host-state populations and what other major powers offer in security guarantees. Drawing from three years of surveys and interviews across fourteen countries, they demonstrate that a key component of building support for the US mission is the service members themselves as they interact with local community members. Highlighting both the positive contact and economic benefits that flow from military deployments and the negative interactions like crime and anti-base protests, this book shows in the most rigorous and concrete way possible how US policy on the ground shapes its ability to advance its foreign policy goals.

Michael A. Allen is a professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State University. His research focuses on the relationships between asymmetric actors in international relations as expressed through conflict, alliances, basing, and political economy. His work has been published by journals including the American Political Science Review, International Studies Quarterly, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Interactions, and Conflict Management and Peace Science. He has published policy-relevant articles in The Conversation, Monkey Cage, the Owl in the Olive Tree, The Duck of Minerva, The Political Quarterly, and other similar venues. In addition to several other publications, he has also coedited the book Poli Sci Fi.

Michael E. Flynn is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at Kansas State University. His research focuses on the political economy of states' foreign policy behavior and on the politics of US military deployments. His research has appeared in the American Political Science Review, the British Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, and various other journals. He has also published several opinion pieces in outlets like Monkey Cage, The Conversation, and Political Violence @ a Glance.

Carla Martínez Machain is a Professor in the Political Science Department at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. In 2020 she was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Chicago. Martínez Machain's research (funded by the Department of Defense's Minerva Initiative and the Army Research Office, among others) focuses on foreign policy analysis, with a focus on military policy and international conflict. She has done fieldwork at military and government installations in Europe and Central and South America. Her work has appeared in various journals, including the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, and has won the Palmer Prize from the Peace Science Society and the Frank J. Klingberg Award from the International Studies Association Midwest. She has also written for policy-oriented outlets, such as Monkey Cage and The Conversation. Martínez Machain has also served as region President for International Studies Association's Midwest region and Section Program Chair for the SSIP section of the ISA. She currently serves as part of the editorial team for the ISA journal International Interactions.

Andrew Stravers is a National Security Fellow at the University of Texas's Clements Center for National Security. His research has examined the politics of overseas basing, both within the United States and within host countries. His work has been published in the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, the Journal of Global Security Studies, Conflict Management and Peace Science, and others, along with popular outlets like War on the Rocks, The National Interest, The Diplomat, and Real Clear Defense.