The Need For A “Half-Pivot to the Americas” by Dr. Robert J. Bunker of SWJ
01.24.2025 at 12:35am
Rebalancing U.S. Strategy: The Case for a Half-Pivot to the Americas
This op-ed was written by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, El Centro Senior Fellow and Future Security Initiative (FSI) Research Fellow, twelve years ago when he was a Minerva Chair at the United States Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute (USAWC SSI). It concerns the “increasing non-state threat metastasis taking place” in the Western Hemisphere related to the growing danger that cartels, gangs, and other forms of organized crime represent. It remains highly relevant and even foreshadowed what we are seeing now.
Dr. Robert J. Bunker has long expressed concerns about the emergence of ‘new warmaking entities’ arising from these nonstate groups. These groups often directly challenge states with low political capacity. At SWJ El Centro, we focus on “criminal insurgencies,” a concept first developed by Dr. John P. Sullivan, an El Centro Senior Fellow and Future Security Initiative (FSI) Research Fellow. For over a decade, we have actively conducted research and published work on this subject.
Strategically, the new administration is now implementing the needed “Half-Pivot to the Americas” in some respects. However, since Dr. Bunker’s writing of this op-ed, China has increasingly entrenched itself in Latin America, undermining US and democratic interests. We must consider and respond to their gray zone activities while actively addressing the cartel and gang threat.
