Schrödinger’s Alliance: Why the US–ROK Relationship Feels Both Better and Worse | Ep. 24

Bruce Klingner, Senior Fellow at the Mansfield Foundation, unpacks why the U.S.-South Korea alliance feels simultaneously more stable than many predicted and more uncertain than it appears. Describing the relationship as a “Schrödinger’s alliance,” Bruce explores how turbulence, misperceptions, and competing strategic impulses in Washington and Seoul are shaping alliance politics. He examines the different factions within the Trump administration pulling policy in opposing directions, touches on the implications of the Maduro capture for alliance optics, the sharp contrasts between President Trump’s first and second National Security Strategies, the unresolved questions surrounding South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines, and more.

Bruce Klingner is a Senior Fellow at the Mansfield Foundation and a leading analyst on North Korea, deterrence, and U.S.-Korea alliance dynamics, with decades of experience examining security challenges on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific.

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