The Quad as catalyst: informality, minilateralism, and the latticework of Eurasian security architecture

The Quad’s evolving role as a pivotal node in cross-regional security cooperation linking the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific presents an interesting case. As a first mover in shaping the Indo-Pacific as a strategic construct, I argue the Quad has acted as a precursor to initiatives like NATO-IP4 and AUKUS. These bottom-up initiatives instituted by middle powers now drive many of the security interactions among U.S. partners and allies. That the Quad has functioned as a template for cross-regional security integration spanning the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean regions is, in part, due to its informality and flexible, adaptive, consensus-drive approach. To unpack the Quad, the article identifies and analyses the Quad’s modes and modalities to solve the puzzle of how Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S. coordinate within minilateral and multilateral frameworks and how the quartet has contributed indirectly to the evolving latticework of security groupings around rimland Eurasia.