Dangerous Alliances: Proponents of Peace, Weapons of War - Hardcover

by Patricia A. Weitsman (Author)

War, from the Western perspective, is not a solitary endeavor. Partnerships of all types serve as a foundation for the projection of power and the employment of force. Waging War argues that these institutions of interstate violence-not just the technology, capability, and level of professionalism and training of armed forces-serve as ready mechanisms to employ force. However, these institutions are not always well designed, and do not always augment fighting effectiveness as they could, sometimes serving as drags on state capacity. At the same time, the net benefit of having this web of partnerships, agreements, and alliances is remarkable. It makes rapid response to crisis possible, and facilitates countering threats wherever they emerge.

Utilizing what the author calls a realist institutionalist agenda-one that understands institutions as conduits of capability-this book lays out which institutional arrangements lubricate states' abilities to advance their agendas and prevail in wartime, and which components of institutional arrangements undermine effectiveness and cohesion, and increase costs to states. It demonstrates and tests the argument in five empirical chapters, examining the cases of the first Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Each case has distinct lessons as well as important generalizations for contemporary multilateral warfighting.

Front Jacket

Military alliances drive international politics. They embody conflict and cooperation among states and shape the international political landscape. Despite the profound effect alliances have on the course of international politics, many gaps remain in our understanding of their formation, continuance, and cohesion. In this book, Patricia Weitsman introduces a comprehensive theory that unifies current ideas about alliances and examines the relationship between threat and alliance politics under conditions of both war and peace.
Examining military alliances before and during World War I, Weitsman provides a new interpretation of the politics of the great powers of this period. She reveals that states frequently form alliances to keep peace among the allied countries, not simply to counter shared external threats. Though alliances may be perceived by others to present a unified and threatening front, countries often face significant threats from within their own alliances. It is this paradox that underscores Weitsman's theory: although alliances are frequently forged to sustain peace, they may, in fact, increase the prospects of war.

Back Jacket

Dangerous Alliances is an important book, and contributes greatly to our understanding of alliances and their impact on war and peace.--Political Science Quarterly
"By building a bridge between realist, liberal, and institutionalist theories on the basis that each one only partially explains alliances, Weitsman offers an insightful, easy to read, and well-structured book..."--Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire

Author Biography

Patricia A. Weitsman is Professor of Political Science at Ohio University. She is the author of Dangerous Alliances: Proponents of Peace, Weapons of War, and co-author of The Politics of Policy Making in Defense and Foreign Affairs .