Alliances

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the literature on alliances. It discusses the classical scholarship dealing with the formation of alliances and their impact on the international system, but also assesses trending debates on the relationship between alliances and, on the one hand, the maintenance of international order, and on the other, the nature of multinational military interventions. The study of alliances has traditionally focused on states and war, with alliances being a tool with which the former could manage the latter. In recent years, the field has widened, taking into account alliances’ evolving and contested relationship to both broader collective security institutions and narrower and supposedly more effective coalitions. As they change in character, alliances will continuously define the frontier between cooperation and conflict and be of central concern to security studies scholars.

Avoiding War: How Should Northern Europe Respond to the US-Russian Rivalry?

“…This logic is anchored in the traditional tenets of alliance theory, where balancing is more commonly pursued by smaller states than bandwagoning. 63 But such a strategy may also increase the risk of more tension, instability and unpredictability. This is arguably so because Russia's strategic forces will need an extended zone of security to protect their forces from US or other NATO allies' precision guided missiles.…”

“…Defining alliances as "a formal or informal association of states for the (threat of) use of military force, in specified circumstances, against actors external to the alliance" is more appropriate. 15 While elaborating on the Norwegian case, it allows us to keep two of NATO's most valuable partners in mind.…”

“…16 However, smaller states may also choose to bandwagon in order to "secure strategic gains despite their material disadvantage". 17 This may include self-imposed restraints that are meant to preclude provocation and suspiciousness. But no matter what a minor client state chooses, they will always have to address the perennial risk of being abandoned by their patron.…”

More allies, weaker missions? How junior partners contribute to multinational military operations

“…The literature on alliances and coalitions in International Relations (IR) scholarship is well developed (Sprecher and Krause, 2006;Masala and Scheffler Korjava, 2016;Rynning and Schmitt, 2018). However, when it comes to warfighting, the literature tends to identify a trade-off between the political benefits for the United States of operating with allies and the military constraints these allies impose on the conduct of operations.…”