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.

“Beyond the Wire is the most ambitious study to date examining the politics of overseas U.S. military deployments. Drawing on an impressive fourteen country survey and in-depth interviews across three continents, the authors unpack when and how host nations give consent or resist U.S. military presence. Their findings carry deep implications for global hierarchy and the liberal international order.” — Andrew Yeo, SK-Korea Foundation Chair and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and Professor of Politics, The Catholic University of America

“Beyond the Wire offers an illuminating and innovative take on the topic of societal-military relations –in the authors’ case, on those between individual soldiers based overseas and the communities that host them. The book shows how the character of interactions between foreign military personnel and local citizens can have far reaching implications for international politics. In so doing, it moves civil-military relations research in new and exciting directions.” — Risa Brooks, Allis Chalmers Associate Professor of Political Science at Marquette University

“This contemporary research rigorously details the many positive, and potentially negative, impacts of US military overseas deployments. It is rich in analysis and insight and an absolute must read for our US national security policy makers, so they more deeply understand how to best shape future military deployments. There is no doubt that Beyond the Wire will have a profound and lasting impact on our national security and foreign policy.” — Richard B. Myers, General, USAF, Ret., 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and President Emeritus, Kansas State University