Alliances Flashcards
What does the Political Science focus on Alliances cover?
- Alliance Formation
- Alliance Dynamics
- Alliances and State Behavior
- Alliances and War
What are the 3 essential components of the Alliance definition?
- First, alliances need to be formal agreements
- Second, alliances are agreements among independent states
- Third, alliances promise cooperation in addressing military threats
How is an Entente different than an Alliance?
usually involves consultation/cooperation in a crisis/war rather than specify conditions of military support
What are Ad Hoc Alliances?
typically referred to as coalitions formed for a specific and immediate purpose
What are Permanent / Indefinite Alliances?
usually formed to counter longer term threats, but nothing is forever
Why alliances? (Realism)
Balancing or Bandwagoning
Generally, states prefer to balance
What is Balancing in Realism?
Effort by states to maximise their capabilities to counterbalance the overwhelming power of another individual state or group of states
What is Bandwagoning in Realism?
Strategy of aligning with stronger revisionist power to avoid becoming its victim
What are the Drawbacks/Risks of Bandwagoning?
- Accept subordinate status
- Accept risk of domination by strong power
What is Capabilities Aggregation?
states form alliances to combine their military capabilities and thereby improve their security position
Why alliances? (Liberalism/Constructivism)
States create alliances in expectation their members can achieve a certain degree of cooperation
The bigger the external threat, the greater alliance cohesion will be
Benefits must outweigh costs
External threat can trigger alliance formation but other common interests can ensure sustainability
What four aspects constitute Intra-Alliance Relations?
- Burden-sharing: do some states bear a disproportionate share of the costs while other members free ride?
- Decision-making: Do all states have an equal voice?
- Fear of abandonment: will allies desert a member requiring help?
- Fear of entrapment: prospect of being dragged
What is a Defensive Pact?
Promise to militarily assist an ally in the event of attack on the ally’s territory
What is an Offensive Pact?
Commitment to engage in coordinated military action outside the territory of any alliance member
What are Hierarchical and Egalitarian Alliances?
- Hierarchical: power imbalance among members
- Egalitarian: power balance among members
What are the types of Hierarchical Alliances?
- Hegemonic: large state leads with consent of smaller states
- Imperial: large state coerces smaller states
What are the three types of alliances?
- Open: Treaty terms are publicised
- Partially open/partially secret: existence of alliance is publicly acknowledged but some terms of agreement remain secret
- Secret: existence of alliance + terms are secret
What are the deterrence levels of Open and Secret Alliances?
Open: (deterrence value maximum)
Secret: (deterrence value minimal)
Why do Alliances collapse?
- Members do not have sufficiently common interests to keep them aligned for an extended time
- Lack of ideological affinity
- Lack of incentive to cooperate militarily
Why are some Alliances ineffective?
- Geographic separation limits military support
- Different adversaries
- Some alliance commitments lead to overextension
- No strategic command structure
