Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests

“Andrew Yeo has written a fascinating book, sweeping in scope and bold in conception. The issue of maintaining America's forward presence in a rapidly changing international environment has attracted much attention in recent years, but to date there has been no study as thorough as this one. It is sure to be of great interest to scholars, policy makers and students of international affairs.” – Thomas Berger, Boston University
“Andrew Yeo’s careful study explains the success and failure of a variety of social movements opposed to U.S. overseas military bases. The breadth and depth of the domestic elite security consensus determines the political opportunities activists have to influence national governments over basing policies. His spare but supple argument provides powerful leverage over diverse cases, from several Asian country contexts to Italy and Ecuador.” – Josh Busby, University of Texas, Austin
“Fostering a productive dialogue between social movement theory and the traditional literature on security alliances, Yeo provides a helpful framework for understanding the mobilization of anti-base movements and the types of political pressure that they exert on elites and security decision-makers in countries that host US military facilities.” – Alexander Cooley, Barnard College, Columbia University
“Andrew Yeo shows that the politics of military force is more about politics than force. The local and transnational politics of US foreign military bases will be critical in both international and domestic politics. The United States still maintains hundreds of overseas bases at great cost. It’s not surprising that they often provoke intense opposition; anti-base activists, Yeo shows, do best when they are able to exploit rifts in the elite security consensus. Both supporters and opponents will want to read this book to understand how to be more effective. And everyone else will benefit from seeing how American security interests develop at the intersection of movement politics and international relations.” – David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine