Although US foreign policy was largely unpopular in the early 2000s,many nation-states, especially those bordering Russia and China,expanded their security cooperation with the United States. In Alignment,Alliance, and American Grand Strategy, Zachary Selden notes thatthe regional power of these two illiberal states prompt threatenedneighboring states to align with the United States. Gestures of alignmentinclude participation in major joint military exercises, involvement in USledoperations, the negotiation of agreements for US military bases, andefforts to join a US-led alliance. By contrast, Brazil is also a rising regionalpower, but as it is a democratic state, its neighbors have not soughtgreater alliance with the United States.

Amid calls for retrenchment or restraint, Selden makes the case thata policy focused on maintaining American military preeminence andthe demonstrated willingness to use force may be what sustains thecooperation of second-tier states, which in turn help to maintain UShegemony at a manageable cost.