Strategic Competition > Alliances & Partnerships
Forging New Tech and Economic Alliances
Building Agile Coalitions for Strategic Leadership
"Winning the future depends on building trusted networks of innovation, standards, and supply chains — not just projecting military might."
Kennedy photo from Washington DC.
🔹 Strategic Context
- This page is part of WISC’s Strategic Competition framework, applying geoeconomic statecraft through the STEAD model — integrating Security, Technology, Economics, Alliances, and Diplomacy — to secure U.S. leadership across critical domains.
Strategic Framing
- New challenges require new forms of cooperation.
- Rather than relying solely on large, formal alliances, the United States is increasingly forging flexible tech and economic coalitions to compete in critical domains. This includes:
- Specialized coalitions around emerging technologies.
- Mini-lateral frameworks that can act nimbly on specific economic, tech, or supply chain threats.
- Multilateral tech and economic councils designed to set rules and norms before authoritarian actors can dominate.
Why It Matters
- Speed and focus: Small groups like the Quad, AUKUS, and TTC allow faster, issue-specific action.
- Domain-specific leadership: Coalitions built around semiconductors, AI, infrastructure, shipbuilding and supply chains shape critical industries.
- Resilience against fragmentation: Creating high-trust frameworks that others can join, preventing authoritarian divide-and-conquer tactics.
Key Actions
- Expand and operationalize the Quad, Chip 4 Alliance, and TTC to secure tech ecosystems and standards.
- Deepen AUKUS cooperation into AI, quantum, and cybersecurity beyond defense tech.
- Use PGII and IPEF to provide alternatives to Chinese economic coercion and debt diplomacy.
🏛️ Engaging Administration or Congress, 📰 Op-Ed / Article / Quoted 🎙️ Podcast ✍️ Policy Brief 👥 Roundtable / Event 🎤 Speaking 🎥 TV/Video 🌐 Global
Quad (U.S., Japan, India, Australia)
Indo-Pacific cooperation: tech standards, infrastructure investment, critical minerals.
AUKUS (Australia, UK, U.S.)
Moving beyond submarines into AI, quantum, cybersecurity, and hypersonics collaboration.
U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC)
Coordinating tech standards, AI governance, export controls, supply chain mapping.
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) - or its Replacement
Digital trade, clean tech, supply chains, labor standards among Indo-Pacific partners.
G7 PGII (Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment)
Financing infrastructure alternatives to Belt and Road, setting emerging tech norms.
ICE Pact
Collaboration between U.S., Canada and Finland regarding ice breakers.
I2U2 (India–Israel–UAE–U.S.)
Mini-lateral grouping launched in 2022 focusing on economic cooperation, food security, energy, water, and emerging technologies.