U.S. Troop Mobilisation in the Caribbean & The Return of Hemispheric Primacy
๐ฐ Context
Toward the end of 2025, the United States launched its largest troop mobilisation in the Caribbean in decades, deploying:
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a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike group
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fighter aircraft & surveillance systems
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amphibious assault vessels
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attack submarines
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tens of thousands of troops
The mobilisation signals a coercive power projection strategy aimed at:
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intensifying pressure on President Nicolรกs Maduro
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weakening the Venezuelan regime
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reshaping power equations in Latin America
The U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) 2025 marks a turning point — prioritising Latin America & the Caribbean and reviving the Monroe Doctrine’s geopolitical logic in a 21st-century context.
๐งญ Monroe Doctrine — Then vs Now
Monroe Doctrine (1823) traditionally meant:
No external powers should intervene in the Western Hemisphere.
Historically, it enabled:
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preventing European colonial revival
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justifying covert & overt regime interventions
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asserting hemispheric pre-eminence
Examples (UPSC value points):
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U.S. role in Cuba crisis
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Guatemala (1954)
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Chile (1973)
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Panama (1989)
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Nicaragua interventions
In 2025, the doctrine is re-framed against China’s expanding presence:
Thus, the revised doctrine is less anti-European, more anti-China.
๐ฃ Why is the U.S. Pulling Back from Europe but Deepening Control in Latin America?
The NSS articulates:
| Strategic Shift | Reason |
|---|
| Retreat from European security leadership | NATO states expected to self-finance |
| Strengthen power in Western Hemisphere | Prevent Chinese strategic footholds |
| Explore limited reset with Russia | Avoid two-front confrontation |
| Prioritise China as systemic challenger | Long-term great-power rivalry |
This reflects Offshore Balancing Doctrine:
Avoid permanent troop-heavy commitments abroad;
secure one’s own sphere;
intervene selectively when systemic balance is threatened.
Europe becomes a burden-sharing problem.
Latin America becomes a strategic denial zone.
๐ Structural Reality — End of Unipolarity
Post-1991 unipolar dominance is eroding.
Key rupture signals:
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Russia’s annexation of Crimea (2014) exposed limits of Western coercion
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The western response was sanctions-heavy but militarily cautious
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Russia survived economic pressure — challenging the liberal order’s enforcement capacity
Thus:
Unipolarity has ended — but American dominance has not.
Instead, a three-power global constellation has emerged:
1️⃣ United States → reigning but overstretched hegemon
2️⃣ China → rising systemic challenger
3️⃣ Russia → revisionist military power with nuclear parity
Realist IR theory calls this a return to major-power anarchy.
๐ฅ U.S.–China Power Transition — The Central Contest
China already possesses:
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world’s 2nd largest economy
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world’s largest navy (by number of ships)
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advanced cyber-warfare & space capabilities
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rapidly growing technological sphere
Its GDP is ~66% of U.S. GDP — a level the USSR never sustainably reached.
China seeks:
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regional hegemony in East Asia
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strategic presence in Indo-Pacific
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Eurasian influence via BRI
This produces a structural power transition conflict, similar to:
This is classic Thucydides Trap dynamics:
Rising power challenges status-quo hegemon → long-term systemic rivalry.
The Caribbean mobilisation is therefore:
๐ฆ Where Does Russia Stand?
Russia is:
Its strategic aims:
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re-establish post-Soviet sphere primacy
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rewrite European security structures
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avoid subordination to China
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seek limited West–Russia accommodation
After sanctions & Ukraine war, Moscow tilted toward Beijing —
yet it resists becoming a Chinese junior partner.
This makes Russia:
the new “swing great power”
capable of tilting balance between U.S. & China.
This injects bipolar tension inside multipolar reality.
๐ก What Makes Today’s Multipolarity “Fluid”?
Unlike Cold War blocs:
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alliances are flexible
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economic interdependence persists
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value blocs ≠ strategic blocs
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hedging replaces alignment
Middle powers now:
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diversify defense
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multi-align
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avoid zero-sum choices
Examples:
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India → strategic autonomy + Quad + BRICS
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Brazil → regional leadership + non-alignment
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Japan & Germany → increased defense spending, hedged diplomacy
Thus:
Multipolarity exists — but lacks stable institutional anchoring.
The order is fluid, transactional & constantly renegotiated.
⚓ Why Latin America Matters Strategically
The U.S. sees the Caribbean–Latin belt as:
China’s presence threatens:
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dollar dominance
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trade route control
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telecom & data security
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energy asset ownership
The troop mobilisation communicates:
It reflects a return to:
Military primacy + coercive diplomacy + sphere-based order logic
๐ฐ️ Doctrinal Implications of NSS 2025
Three clear doctrinal shifts emerge:
1️⃣ Return to Hemispheric Primacy
2️⃣ Decentralised Global Engagement
3️⃣ Hybrid Strategic Competition
Great-power rivalry becomes multi-domain.
๐ฎ๐ณ Implications for India
Opportunities
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wider space for middle-power diplomacy
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role in Global South mediation
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diversification of strategic partnerships
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technology & defense leverage
Challenges
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U.S.–China rivalry intensifies Indo-Pacific tension
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Russia–China axis strains balancing space
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Latin shift may reduce U.S. Europe presence → ripple effects in Eurasia
Likely Indian Strategy
India benefits from fluid multipolarity,
but instability risks remain.
๐️ UPSC Relevance Mapping
GS-2 — International Relations
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Changing world order
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Decline of unipolarity
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Emergence of great-power competition
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Offshore balancing strategy
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Spheres of influence in modern geopolitics
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Middle-power foreign policy behaviour
GS-1 — World History Linkages
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Power transition parallels in 19th–20th century
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Rise of Germany vs Britain
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Cold War balance structures
Essay Paper Themes
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“World order in transition”
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“Power without responsibility”
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“Strategic autonomy in a fractured world”
๐ง High-Value Keywords for Mains Answers
Use terms like:
These fetch extra marks.
๐ Practice Mains Questions (for 10–15 marks)
1️⃣
“The emerging global order is neither bipolar nor multipolar — but structurally fluid with competing great-power spheres.” Examine.
2️⃣
Critically analyse the revival of the Monroe Doctrine in the context of U.S. troop mobilisation in the Caribbean.
3️⃣
How does offshore balancing shape evolving U.S. strategic priorities between Europe, Latin America and the Indo-Pacific?
๐ฉ Prelims Practice — Concept Check (Advanced)
Which of the following best explains “fluid multipolarity”?
a) Presence of multiple powers with rigid ideological blocs
b) A world where great powers compete within flexible and shifting alignments
c) Bipolar rivalry coexisting with a dominant hegemon
d) Economic interdependence without security competition
Answer: b — shifting alignments + flexible coalitions.