perspective Is US Security Policy»Pivoting« from the Atlantic to Asia-Pacific? A Critical Geopolitical Perspective John Agnew September 2012 n Since the Cold War there has been no single geopolitical template that assigns meaning to world politics. This has led to the search for new geopolitical»structures,« often based on questionable empirical evidence and interpretations. Critical geopo­litics is suspicious of such geopolitical narratives and scrutinizes their assumptions and impact on policies. n The recent debate about a pivoting of US security policy from the trans-Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific makes no sense. The notion implies an overstatement of the trans-Atlantic axis and a substantial narrowing of the recent reshaping around the China–US relationship. Recent efforts to replace the term»pivoting« with that of »rebalancing« may more accurately reflect what is taking place. n The notion of a shift of US security policy towards the Asia-Pacific also risks over­simplification: Experts and politicians should avoid a narrow focus on the bilateral China–US relationship. They must not neglect the complex realities of the region when framing the story about Asia-Pacific in world politics. n Part of the problem is the overemphasis on Great Powers at the expense of more »lowly« actors. It also reflects an obsession with grand»turning points« in history versus slower transitions. The»surprise« that China, long viewed as»backward« and stuck with a state-based political economy, should have become such an important global actor so quickly makes it a ready candidate for wild speculation uninformed by local knowledge.