San Francisco System

San Francisco System
Company typeAlliance network
Founded1951

The San Francisco System (also known as the "Hub and Spokes" architecture) is a network of alliances pursued by the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, after the end of World War II[1] – the United States as a "hub", and Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand as "spokes".[2] The system is made of bilateral political-military and economic commitments between the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies.[3] This system stands in contrast to a multilateral alliance, such as NATO.

Initially, the United States sought to establish a multilateral alliance among its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, but the American allies in the Asia-Pacific region were unwilling or ambivalent about entering into a multilateral alliance.[4] As a consequence, the United States opted for the hub-and-spokes architecture, a set of bilateral alliances.[4]

  1. ^ Victor Cha, "Powerplay: The Origins of the U.S Alliance System in East Asia," International Security 34(3) (2001/10). Powerplay.
  2. ^ Park, Jae Jeok. “The US-Led Alliances in the Asia-Pacific: Hedge against Potential Threats or an Undesirable Multilateral Security Order?” The Pacific Review, vol. 24, no. 2, 2011, pp. 137–158.
  3. ^ Calder, Kent. "Securing Security through Prosperity: the San Francisco System in Comparative Perspective." The Pacific Review, vol. 17, no. 1, 2004, pp. 135–157.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).