Under the Pentagon's current Global Defense Posture Review (GDPR), the United States is establishing a global network of smaller base facilities in new areas such as Central Asia, the Black Sea and Africa. Drawing upon recent evidence from the base hosts of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, this chapter cautions that these new US overseas bases, despite their lighter footprint, risk becoming enmeshed in the local political agenda of the host country elites, who may challenge the legitimacy of the foreign basing presence. These are important lessons for NATO planners who simultaneously seek to promote democratisation while they negotiate base access agreements with politically volatile hosts.