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Chapter Fifteen:
Alliances
“Alliance” is a technical term in world politics. There are three major types of (military) alliances, each specifying different behavior in case of certain military contingencies. The conventional wisdom on alliances, however, failed to differentiate between the different purposes for which alliances were signed, and so often mispredicted the usefulness or reliability of alliances. By refining the criteria by which we evaluate these agreements, political scientists are now able to make much better predictions about alliance reliability.
- Why might states form alliances? Give several (abstract) reasons.
- Why might a state choose not to honor a treaty commitment that it has made?
- Let's say states A and B begin a war. State C has defense pacts with both, and must pick between siding with A, siding with B, and staying neutral. What factors might enter into state C's decision? (If your class is learning the modeling in Principles, you might try constructing and solving an extensive form model of this situation.)
- Why might allies fight one another?
- How might a state try to indicate, before a crisis, whether it intends to be a reliable ally?
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