U.S. Needs to Win Over Global 'Swing States'

The rise of four powerful democracies – Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkey – presents one of the most significant opportunities for U.S. foreign policy in the early 21st century. Daniel M. Kliman of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and Richard Fontaine of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) urge U.S. leaders to pursue closer partnerships with these four countries, which they term “global swing states.” In this new report, released as part of a joint initiative of GMF and CNAS, Kliman and Fontaine offer a new framework for thinking about how U.S. engagement with these pivotal powers can bolster peace, prosperity, and freedom. The authors offer policy prescriptions specific to each of the four countries while recommending that the United States' engagement with the global swing states include four broad components: