The U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan and Its Alliance Policy

Lee Sang Hyun

(shlee@sejong.org)

President,

the Sejong Institute

Abstract

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan raises a controversial question of whether it signifies a fundamental change in its alliance policy: can allies be discarded by the U.S. if they do not benefit the U.S. or fulfill their role as allies? President Biden described the intent of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as a shift of focus—to focus on its rivalry relations with China and Russia. Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic, systematic fragmentation, global economic stagnation, and the worsening U.S.-China relations shape the international order and thus the stance of the Biden administration’s foreign policy. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, however, critically weakens the two pillars of Biden’s diplomacy, which are the pillar of value and norms and the other of alliance and multilateral network cooperation. Restoring the trust of its allies will be the biggest challenge for the Biden administration, amid many diplomatic difficulties at home and abroad. South Korea must learn to protect its own security from the lesson of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is important for South Korea to strengthen its own will and competence, on top of strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance.