Monetizing The Linchpin: Kyle Ferrier

Do countries need allies? Do alliances necessarily require the member countries to set aside their national interests? These are the questions that the Trump administration has posed with its America-first approach to foreign policy. 

One of the key claims from the president is that countries like South Korea are not paying their fair share of the defense costs in the security alliance. But who has actually done the math on what the South Koreans are contributing to the alliance?

KEI Fellow and Director of Academic Affairs Kyle Ferrier has done the math on the value of the alliance - and he believes that the United States is risking a whole lot more than $5 billion by undermining people’s confidence in the U.S.-ROK security alliance.

You can find his paper "Monetizing the Linchpin" here: 

http://www.keia.org/sites/default/files/publications/kei_monitoring_the_linchpin_191205.pdf