Pardee Center Hosts “Costs of War” Seminar on Contributions of U.S. Allies

On March 5, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future hosted a seminar in its “20 Years of War” research series featuring Jason Davidson, a Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Mary Washington.

In his talk, Prof. Davidson gave an overview of the contributions major U.S. allies have made to U.S.-led military operations in recent decades, and of the significant human and financial costs they have incurred. He argued against the frequent critique that U.S. allies are “free-riders,” presenting evidence that allies have made significant contributions of troops, and that their financial contributions are often proportional to their GDPs. He also discussed the range of motives that lead allies to contribute to U.S.-led operations and considered different explanations for why allies’ levels of contribution to particular conflicts vary.

Watch the full presentation and discussion above.

This was the first of a three-seminar series this semester related to the “20 Years of War” research series, a two-year collaboration with the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University to expand the ongoing Costs of War project. The series explores the human, financial, environmental, social, and political costs of the post-9/11 wars and illustrates how the impacts of the wars will ripple into the future. Read more about upcoming events in the series and RSVP to attend here.