Understanding International Alliances

• Alliances refer to formal or informal relationships of security cooperation between 2+ sovereign states (Walt, 1987).

Types of Alliances

• Alliances typically come in one of two forms: ideological or geographic.
• Purpose related alliances are examples of ideological alliances.
• Regionally contained or limited alliances are examples of geographic alliances.
• Alliances may be hierarchical or egalitarian in structure.

Alliances Through Time

• Six European powers, specifically the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Russia/Soviet Union, account for a quarter of all alliance memberships since 1815.
• Many of these powers were imperial or aspiring to great power status.
• Notable historical alliances include the Concert of Europe, the US-Japan alliance, and NATO.

Why States Join/Form Alliances

• Critiques suggest alliances can lead to a loss of sovereignty and may not always deliver support.
• States join alliances despite these critiques because:
• To balance against a common enemy.
• NATO serves as an example of balancing against the potential Soviet aggression.
• Increased threat levels cause more cohesive organizations (Mearsheimer, 1990).
• To balance the power of its own members.
• The Concert of Europe tried to avoid other European powers that threatened the continent, an effort akin to the Napoleonic France era.
• To gain access to resources and prestige.
• This explains why many weaker states participate in alliances.
• To project power.
• The US doesn't need NATO to protect its territory or sovereignty, but it helps project American power abroad.
• Due to geographic realities.
• It seems logical for states to join regional security organizations if all nearby states are part of the organization.
• Driven by fear.
• Not being in an alliance heightens vulnerability and potential risk.
• They are coerced.
• States are pressured to join alliances, even against the wishes and desires of the state.
• Apprehension about stronger states with whom good relations are desired can also lead to alliance formation.
• Stealth is the driver.
• Military alliances can emerge organically through regional or bilateral integration, like the EU and its CSFP.
• Internal positioning is important.
• Forming or remaining in an alliance can reinforce a leader's or administration's internal position, especially in authoritarian states during the Cold War.

Factors Promoting Longevity of Alliances

• Socialization of member states
• Continuous existence or new identification
• Cultural or ideological overlap
• Lack of better options
• Institutional interests
• Alliance tensions arise from unevenly distributed threat levels.
• The burden is not the same for all members.
• The US spends more on NATO than other member states.
• Certain NATO countries, like Turkey, serve as frontline states in war against extremism.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

• NATO is a long-lived alliance dating back to the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC, in April 1949, ratified by 12 original members.
• Lord Hastings Ismay, NATO’s first Secretary-General, stated the alliance serves a threefold: to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.
• It secured the bridge between the US and Europe and boosted morale in Western Europe.
• A council of representatives was established in Paris and, over time, an increasingly complex intergovernmental setup was established.
• The Soviet Union responded to NATO's creation by forming the Warsaw Pact in 1955, partly due to the potential remilitarization of West Germany.
• France withdrew from NATO's military structures in the 1960s, leading to the transfer of civilians and military headquarters from Paris to Brussels.
• This was due primarily to maintaining an independent defense policy, including nuclear weapons programs.
• In 2009, France rejoined NATO's military structures.

Post-Cold War

• NATO has thrived since 1990, adapting from its Cold War origins. Under NATO command, military forces have engaged in combat operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Libya.

• Since 1999, the alliance has expanded to include most former Soviet-bloc countries:

  • Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary (1999)
  • Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, and Bulgaria (2004)
  • Albania and Croatia (2009)
  • Montenegro (2017)
  • North Macedonia (2020)

• This expansion sought to secure and strengthen new democracies while also serving as protection against potential Russian aggression.

• NATO also maintains ‘Partnership for Peace’ arrangements with 20 countries, including non-NATO European states, Central Asian republics, and Russia itself.

European Union

• Defense or security cooperation was consciously excluded from the 1957 Treaty of Rome.
• It deepened into the European Union when incorporating the Maastricht Treaty of 1992.
• The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) resulted from the treaty above.
• The CFSP has since grown but faces contention among members and lags in integration compared to other policy areas decided in Brussels.
• The 1998 Saint-Malo Declaration signaled increased defense cooperation between the French and British, paving the way for the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) the following year, which laid the groundwork for European military brigades.

Other Regional Institutions

• Other notable regional institutions (security-based/with security component):
  • CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)
  • LAS (League of Arab States)
  • GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council)
  • AU (African Union)
  • SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)

Regional Institutions Since the End of Cold War

• Many regional institutions have been established or expanded since the end of the Cold War due to:
  • Lack of faith in the UN
  • Post-Cold War vacuum
  • Economic prioritization that relies heavily on domestic military, with the hope of alliance membership protecting the state, if, and when, needed
  • Globalisation of threat from non-state groups, such as ISIS