Introduction
Current Russian efforts to challenge the United States leadership have fostered a multi-sectoral response from the government. Commonly focused on military prowess in destroying the enemy and celebrating victory, the United States now realizes the importance of other instruments of power in reducing Russian expansion in EUCOM (Rodriquez et al., 2020). In the face of twenty-first-century warfare and Russian threats against its military, the United States employs its strategic advantages and instruments of power in countering Russian efforts to challenge the United States’ leadership.
The Emerging Threat Posed by Russia in EUCOM
Russia is a worthwhile, tangible enemy given its increased military capabilities and aggression given the United States shrinking competitive advantage. The United States EUCOM, the strategic command in the area, faces difficulty in successfully countering Russian activities that may require adopting new operational techniques and acquiring new weapons. Russia’s incursion into the Donbas region in Ukraine confirmed its military power, contrary to a gap that NATO knew existed (Orbon, 2019). Warfare in the twenty-first century presents the United States military with a challenge to catch up with technology or risk losing its strategic advantage. Accordingly, the EUCOM had to adjust its strategies to avoid redundancy (Orbon, 2019). Having divested from defense and protection and invested in reconnaissance collection platforms and naval and land force capabilities, Russia caught the EUCOM off-guard (Orbon, 2019). However, the army had recognized gaps in its capabilities and security efforts for years, and competing priorities prevailed, putting the command in a vulnerable position. Therefore, EUCOM faces a threat of felt gaps following the Russian offensive as the military urgently works to match or gain leadership over the Russian army.
Diplomatic, Information, and Military Instruments of Power
The United States has a large treaty ally base worldwide, including partnerships with many states. Strong diplomatic and geopolitical ties have given the United States strong leadership in competition-based international security despite Russian attempts to partner with the gulf countries in the extraordinary power competition efforts. The United States government has set effective measures to obtain technological superiority amidst competition from Russia for information security and military leadership. For instance, the United States’ release of classified information about Russia’s cruel intentions before invading Ukraine shows America’s information strategy (Hillison et al., 2023). Additionally, the establishment of cyber counter-attacks, artificial intelligence, and counter-hacking mechanisms have become a priority, given the Russian use of cyberspace warfare techniques such as hacking (Hillison et al., 2023). Russia’s modernized force capabilities and the use of information operations, hacking, and nuclear weapons have rejuvenated United States military innovation technology.
Economic and Financial Instruments of Power
Despite the rise of China, the United States has been more economically connected to the rest of the world. The United States dollar remains the most potent currency giving it economic leverage against Russia. The European Union and the United States, through EUCOM, must safeguard their intellectual property, technologies, and infrastructure, reducing previously existing economic conflicts to seal the gaps that China had made inroads (Hillison et al., 2023). Further, offering individual freedom to its partners through free market economies has retained America’s global leadership while growing its partnership base. Hence, the diplomatic instrument of power is closely tied to the economic mechanism. Financially, the United States military ought to invest in tools and capabilities. United States’ global financial dominance in institutions such as the world bank and the International Monetary Fund gives the country economic power (Hillison et al., 2023). America uses this power to impose sanctions on banks that fail to provide information on law enforcement agencies while protecting the population from suffering in case of any economic mistakes (Rodriguez et al., 2020). Investing in credible financial institutions such as the World Bank protects the country’s financial systems and allows the United States to invest in its military prowess.
Intelligence and Law Enforcement Instruments of Power
The financial instrument of power works closely with intelligence and law enforcement. Intelligence involves activities, products, and organizations working together to provide intelligence. Intelligence is practical for military, law enforcement, diplomats, and financial and economic experts. Any intelligence gathered is used in decision-making (Rodriguez, 2020). The United States is a leading champion of the rule of law and uses information from financial institutions to detect customers’ illegal activities or threats to national security (Rodriguez et al., 2020). The United States created a blocklist intended to paralyze financial transactions between financiers of warfare, a law enforcement effort (Rodriguez, 2020). Law enforcement complements military and diplomatic efforts in controlling illegal behavior that might threaten national security. The DIMEFIL instruments of power work together to give the government a competitive strategy against its competitors.
Effects of the Situation on INDOPACOM
The Indo-Pacific Command has been a crucial part of the United States national interest since the Russian offensive against Ukraine. The INDOPACOM faces a threat to its posture in the area of responsibility given the approach by Russia. While INDOPACOM could have the ability to encourage Indo-Pacific countries against Russia, China, a powerful rising nation, maybe a setback given the increased naval cooperation between Russia and China. China established its nuclear base while Russia began its offensive against Ukraine, creating a foundation for a possible great power competition among the three nations (Burke and Matisek, 2019). Additionally, INDOPACOM requires the increased deployment of combatants on the land, sea, and air force to avoid logistical constraints (Moseley et al., 2019). China seeks to erode INDOPACOM’s posture in the Pacific using unrestricted warfare techniques to build on its great power competition.
Effects on the Gulf Cooperation Council
The Gulf Cooperation Council enjoys good diplomatic relations with Russia and the United States. However, recent growing Russian interest in the Gulf Cooperation Council puts the cooperation at crossroads in trading with Russia and Ukraine (Gulf International Forum, 2022). The GCC, a significant fuel supplier to Europe, gets trapped in geopolitical matters in the continent. The United States issue of financial sanctions on Russian allies may threaten the cooperation’s income. However, with rising fuel costs since February 2022, the resource-rich region became a leading supplier. Since the GCC enjoys protection from Washington, it could become EUCOM and the United States ally in successfully implementing the European boycott of Russian gas exports (Gulf International Forum, 2022). The GCC is financially promising as the United States finds ways to reduce Russian expansion in EUCOM.
Conclusion
The United States remains well-powerful against Russian efforts in EUCOM. Promoting broader and genuine diplomatic relations, innovative information security measures, and advanced modern military techniques have given United States leadership in tackling twenty-first-century warfare mechanisms. An integrated application of the diplomatic, information, military, economic, financial, intelligence, and law enforcement tools of power gives the United States a competitive advantage in reducing Russian expansion in EUCOM.
References
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Mosley, M. T., Lohaus, P., Schmitt, G. J., Donnelly, G. (2019). Turbulent skies: An AEI study on the US air force’s contribution to international competition. American Enterprise Institute for public policy research. Web.
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