Dr. Deon Canyon, associate dean of academics and professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, presents a detailed framework for evaluating sovereignty costs in Access, Basing, and Overflight (ABO) agreements. In his latest Security Nexus Perspective, “The Sovereignty Calculus: An Access, Basing, and Overflight Decision Framework for Hedging States,” Dr. Canyon examines how hedging states can navigate the complex trade-offs between sovereignty, security, and alignment in the Indo-Pacific. Using case studies of Singapore and the Solomon Islands, the paper emphasizes the importance of structured agreement design to preserve decisional, territorial, political, and reputational sovereignty. This analysis provides policymakers with practical tools to assess ABO agreements and manage strategic risks in an era of great-power competition.

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