TY - BOOK ID - 77898691 TI - The origins of alliances PY - 1987 SN - 0801469988 1322522944 0801469996 9780801469992 9780801420542 0801420547 0801494184 9780801494185 0801420547 9780801494185 9781322522944 9780801469985 PB - Ithaca Cornell University Press DB - UniCat KW - International relations. KW - Alliances. KW - Coexistence KW - Foreign affairs KW - Foreign policy KW - Foreign relations KW - Global governance KW - Interdependence of nations KW - International affairs KW - Peaceful coexistence KW - World order KW - National security KW - Sovereignty KW - World politics KW - Alliances KW - Treaties of alliance KW - International relations KW - Treaties KW - Law and legislation KW - Middle East KW - Politics and government KW - Foreign relations. KW - Middle East - Foreign relations KW - Middle East - Politics and government - 1945 KW - -Alliances. UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:77898691 AB - How are alliances made? In this book, Stephen M. Walt makes a significant contribution to this topic, surveying theories of the origins of international alliances and identifying the most important causes of security cooperation between states. In addition, he proposes a fundamental change in the present conceptions of alliance systems. Contrary to traditional balance-of-power theories, Walt shows that states form alliances not simply to balance power but in order to balance threats. Walt begins by outlining five general hypotheses about the causes of alliances. Drawing upon diplomatic history and a detailed study of alliance formation in the Middle East between 1955 and 1979, he demonstrates that states are more likely to join together against threats than they are to ally themselves with threatening powers. Walt also examines the impact of ideology on alliance preferences and the role of foreign aid and transnational penetration. His analysis show, however, that these motives for alignment are relatively less important. In his conclusion, he examines the implications of "balance of threat" for U.S. foreign policy. ER -