Chapter 5: Alliances and Military-Security Cooperation

The Definition, Characteristics, Functions, and Typologıes of Alliances

In the first place, it is the anarchic structure of the international system that causes the formation of alliances. Anarchy refers to the absence of a central government or higher authority above the states that could enforce the rules in the system and prevent or stop the hostilities between states. Security dilemma is another key feature of the competitive international system. Security dilemma refers to a condition in which actions taken by one actor to improve its national security are interpreted as aggressive/offensive by other actors,

In international politics, balance of power refers to a condition in which no one state predominates over others, tending to create general equilibrium and curb the hegemonic ambitions of all states. States may balance in several ways. When states attempt to balance threats by an increase of their national capabilities, this is called internal balancing . Alternatively, when they try to balance against a prevailing threat by the establishment of informal or formal alliances with other states, this is known as external balancing (Grieco, 1997: 160).

Through internal and external efforts, a state can either increase its own capacity or impair that of its rival. While the former is called positive balancing , the latter is negative balancing (Steff and Khoo, 2014: 2227-228). One can make another distinction between hard balancing and soft balancing . States use mainly their military and economic capacities in hard balancing, whereas soft balancing suggests the use of diplomatic and cultural means, which are the soft power resources (Fortmann, Paul and Wirtz, 2004: 362-365; Paul, 2004: 3; Pape, 2005: 9-10).

Balancing can also appear in the form of onshore balancing and offshore balancing . Omni-balancing is a more suitable strategy to explain the balancing behavior of the leaders of the third world states.

Defining the Concept of Alliance

An alliance is “a formal agreement that pledges states to co-operate in using their military resources against a specific state or states and usually obligates one or more of the signatories to use force, or to consider (unilaterally or in consultation with allies) the use of force in specified circumstances” (Osgood, 1968: 17).

Alliances are established to deal with mainly military security affairs. Therefore, the principal goal of alliances is to ensure political sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security on the basis of collective military defense (Krause and Singer, 2001: 16).

Basic Characteristics of Alliances

Bergsmann gives some constituting elements of an alliance (Bergsmann, 2001: 35-36). Accordingly, alliances are arrangements between states and, in some cases, independent authorities other than states.

Alliances are explicit agreements. Nevertheless, explicitness of an alliance agreement does not necessarily mean that the agreement is made by a formal treaty and declared to other states and registered with the United Nations.

Although most alliances also comprise some activities that take place while the treaty is in force such as the coordination of doctrines or joint exercises, the backbone of an alliance is certain specific behaviors that shall be followed in case of a certain situation. This is sometimes referred to as casus foederis . This element distinguishes the alliances from mere security cooperation or nonaggression pacts.

Casus Foederis: although alliances may be informal, they are typically formalized by a treaty of alliance, the most critical clauses of which are those that define the casus foederis , or the circumstances under which the treaty obligates an ally to aid a fellow member (www. britannica.com).

A Typology of Alliances

Alliances may be distinguished by function, behavior, degree of integration, or another criterion. For example, Hans J. Morgenthau distinguishes alliances based on how strong the alliance serves identical, complementary, and ideological interests and policies. He further classifies them as mutual and one-sided, general and limited, temporary and permanent, operative and inoperative alliances (Morgenthau and Thompson, 1985: 203).

Wartime alliances are, in fact, generally established in peacetime to prevent, or prevail in, a possible future war. These alliances continue to operate under wartime conditions.

Peacetime alliances are just formal or informal agreements between two or more states intended to further the national security of the participating states, operating when the signatories are not at war.

There are three basic types of formal military alliances; defense pact, nonaggression/neutrality, and entente (Singer and Small, 1968).

A defense pact requires its signatories to intervene with military force on behalf of any alliance partner(s) engaged in armed hostilities.

A Nonaggression pact is an alliance whose signatories pledge not to resort to military action against other pact signatories.

Main Functions of Alliances

An alliance carries out several functions for its members (Murphy, 2017: 25-26). First of all, an alliance contributes to the balance of power in a given setting. Defensive alliances deter aggressive states from using military force. Many examples of such alliances may be given that prevented fullscale wars between major actors.

A formal military alliance such as NATO usually has the purpose of collective defense , where its members pool their capabilities and launch a collective effort to protect one another against a potential outside aggressor (Krause and Singer, 2001: 17).

Moreover, alliances help contain potential rivals. Alliances also provide the means to keep the allies under control through restricting their interaction with potential rivals.

Furthermore, alliances enhance the military power of its members. The military strength of an alliance naturally enhances the national power in terms of personnel, military equipment, defense spending, high technology, intelligence sharing, and financial resources. However, the gains of being within an alliance may vary from member to member.

Finally, alliances provide the members with cost-effective options in pursuing national security interests through pooling the military capabilities and sharing the financial burdens.

Theories of Alliances and Security Cooperation

Several factors have substantial impact on forming alliances and security cooperation. These factors include, but are not limited to, the historical conditions under which they are founded, the type of commitment, the scope of cooperation, the ideology and the regime type of members, the number of members, and the geographical proximity among member states. There are three theories of alliances.

1. Balance of Power and Alliances
2. Balance of Threat and Alliances
3. Balance of Interests

Historical Background and Examples

Alliances date back to as early as the 5th century BC. For example, the League of Delian led by Athens and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta were formed during the Peloponnesian War, which lasted between 431-404 BC (Shewey, 2004).

During the last quarter of the 19th century, the balance of power in Europe was disrupted by several developments such as the weakness of France due to the Napoleonic wars, the retreat of the Ottoman Empire from Europe, and the rise of both Germany and Italy.

The 20th century also witnessed the formation of several alliances. During the First World War, the Central Powers included Germany, AustriaHungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. They fought against the Entente Powers of the Russian Empire, the British Empire, France, Italy, Serbia, Romania, and Portugal. During the Second World War, while the Axis Powers included Germany, Japan, Italy, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria, the Allies consisted of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Poland, France, and Yugoslavia.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance that provides security for its members. NATO is an intergovernmental organization, where each member maintains its political sovereignty. All NATO decisions are taken jointly based on the agreement of each member country (Bayer, 2013, 33).

Founding the Alliance

Soon after the Second World War had ended, several disagreements emerged among the allied powers of the war, namely the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. Especially, they failed to reach an agreement on the post-war international order. The Soviet Union started to dominate Eastern Europe by imposing socialist ideology on the regional powers and expanded its sphere of influence. This was opposed, however, by the Western powers, including the US. As a result, the US decided to form an alliance to minimize the Soviet influence in Europe and get prepared for a possible attack by the socialist/communist states.

The Rivalry between the Two Alliances and the Dissolution of the Warsaw Pact

After the foundation of the alliance in 1949, new allies joined NATO. Greece and Turkey became full members in 1952, and West Germany followed suit in 1955. In reaction to West Germany’s becoming a NATO member, the Soviet Union and its East European allies formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

NATO’s Transformation in the Post-Cold War Era NATO decided to transform old rivals into new friends. “In December 1991, the Allies established the North

Atlantic Cooperation Council , renamed the EuroAtlantic Partnership Council in 1997. This forum brought the allies together with their Central European, Eastern European, and Central Asian neighbors for joint consultations. Cooperation also extended southward. In 1994, the Alliance founded the Mediterranean Dialogue with six non-member Mediterranean countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia; with Algeria also joining in 2000.” The Dialogue seeks to contribute to security and stability in the Mediterranean through better mutual understanding.”

“The allies created the Partnership for Peace program (PfP) in 1994. The Partnership for Peace allowed nonNATO countries, or “partners,” to share information with NATO Allies and to modernize their militaries in line with modern democratic standards. Partners were encouraged to choose their own level of involvement with the Alliance. The path to full membership would remain open to those who decided to pursue it. Three former Partners – Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary – took their seats as full Alliance members in 1999, following their completion of a political and military reform program.”

NATO Member Countries

NATO is an Alliance that consists of 29 independent member countries. Member states are the states that party to the NATO Treaty. The Twelve original members of the Alliance that found the organization in 1949 are as follows: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The other member countries that later joined the alliance are as follows: Greece and Turkey (1952), Germany (1955), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), and Montenegro (2017).

Partners and Partnership Initiatives

“Over more than 25 years, the Alliance has developed a network of partnerships with nonmember countries from the Euro-Atlantic area, the Mediterranean and the Gulf region, and other partners across the globe. NATO pursues dialogue and practical cooperation with these nations on a wide range of political and security-related issues” (www.mod.gov.lv). NATO cooperates with a range of international organizations and countries in different structures.

Turkey-NATO Relations

After the Second World War, Turkey wanted to act with the Western nations. This was basically due to policies of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov had invited Turkey’s Moscow ambassador to the ministry on June 7, 1945 and communicated the Soviet demands, including the cession of Kars and Ardahan to the USSR, providing the USSR with a base that would ensure the common defense of the Straits, and revising the Montreux Convention (Aydın, 2001: 475). In the face of the Soviet threat, Turkey wanted to act within an alliance with the Western powers and, therefore, sought to join NATO.

Turkey’s applications for membership in NATO had been turned down before 1950. In June 1950, however, Turkey became one of the few countries that sent troops to Korea.

Turkey together with Greece joined NATO in 1952. According to Smith (2000, 94), Turkey had been accepted to NATO due to its potential support to the alliance, its proximity to both air bases in the Middle East and oil resources of the region, and its capability to strain the Soviets.

Although the above-mentioned developments are some examples of support that NATO provided, it is a fact that NATO and some leading NATO countries also failed to provide Turkey with support especially on such issues as combatting terrorism, developing the military infrastructure, and giving military supplies.

The NATO Principles and the Main Organizational Structure

Political and Military Objectives of NATO

NATO aims at guaranteeing the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. The rationale of NATO is to provide security for its members. Moreover, NATO works to promote democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict. NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Collective Defense

NATO is committed to the principle that an attack against one or several of its members is considered as an attack against all. This is the principle of collective defense , which is enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. So far, Article 5 has been invoked once - in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001 (NATO Press Conference, 2001).

Decisions and Consultations

Every day, member countries consult and take decisions on security issues at all levels and in a variety of fields. A “NATO decision” is the expression of the collective will of all 29 member countries since all decisions are taken by consensus.

All NATO decisions are made by consensus, after discussion and consultation among member countries. Consultation between member states is therefore at the heart of NATO, since allies are able to exchange views and information, and discuss issues prior to reaching agreement and taking action.

The Organizational Structure of NATO

The NATO delegations consist of civilian officials working at the main NATO Headquarters in Brussels, whereas military representatives mainly include military officials.

• NATO Delegations
• The North Atlantic Council (NAC)
• The Nuclear Planning Group (NPG)
• Subordinate Committees
• The Secretary General

The Military Organizational Structure of NATO

“When the implementation of political decisions has military implications, the key actors involved are: The Military Committee, composed of the Chiefs of Defense of NATO member countries; the International Military Staff, the Military Committee’s executive body; and the military command structure, composed of Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation.

• The Allied Command Operations (ACO)
• The Allied Command Transformation (ACT)

NATO’s Tasks and Operations

NATO’s Current Strategic Concept

“The 2010 Strategic Concept, Active Engagement, Modern Defense , is a very clear and resolute statement on NATO’s core tasks and principles, its values, the evolving security environment and the Alliance’s strategic objectives for the next decade. After having described NATO as “a unique community of values committed to the principles of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” it presents NATO’s three essential core tasks:

• Collective defense,
• Crisis management and
• Cooperative security.

It also emphasizes alliance solidarity, the importance of transatlantic consultation, and the need to engage in a continuous process of reform.

NATO Operations and Missions

“NATO is an active and leading contributor to peace and security on the international stage. It promotes democratic values and is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. However, if diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis management operations, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.

NATO’s Role in Conventional Arms Control

“NATO attaches great importance to conventional arms control and provides an essential consultative and decision-making forum for its members on all aspects of arms control and disarmament. NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept highlights the continued importance of harmonizing defense and arms control policies and objectives, and the Alliance’s commitment to the development of future arms control agreements”.

NATO Policy on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

“The Alliance initiated a zero-tolerance policy on human trafficking, which was endorsed at Istanbul Summit in June 2004. The policy commits NATO member countries and other troop-contributing nations participating in NATO-led operations to reinforce efforts to prevent and combat such activity.

Science for Peace and Security Programme

“The Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme promotes dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO member states and partner nations based on scientific research, technological innovation and knowledge exchange.”

Countering Terrorism

NATO’s work on counter-terrorism focuses on improving awareness of the threat, developing capabilities to prepare and respond, and enhancing engagement with partner countries and other international actors.

Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction

“The proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and their delivery systems, could have incalculable consequences for national, regional and global security. NATO is strengthening its capabilities to defend against chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attacks, including terrorism and warfare.

Ballistic Missile Defense

NATO ballistic missile defense (BMD) is part of the Alliance’s response against the increasing threat and of its core task of collective defense. NATO has the responsibility to protect its European populations, territory and forces in light of the increasing proliferation of ballistic missiles and against threats emanating from outside the EuroAtlantic area” ( https://www.nato.int/cps/en/ natohq/topics_49635.htm ).

Cyber Defense

NATO’s main focus in cyber defense is to protect its own networks (including operations and missions) and enhance resilience across the Alliance.

NATO’s Role in Energy Security

It is to “develop its competence in supporting the protection of critical energy infrastructure; and work towards significantly improving the energy efficiency of the military”.

Protection of the Environment

Protecting the environment from damaging effects of military operations;

Women, Peace and Security Issues

“NATO and its partners are committed to removing barriers for women’s participation in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding, and to reducing the risk of conflict-related and gender-based violence.”

Protection of Civilians

“NATO and its partners are contributing to the protection of civilians by integrating related measures in the planning and conduct of NATOled operations and missions. It also includes efforts to protect children from the effects of armed conflict and to prevent conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence”.

Protection of Children in Armed Conflict

“The nature of contemporary warfare has created significant threats against children, who are frequently the victims of indiscriminate attacks and are subjected to sexual violence. NATO is taking steps, as part of the wider international community, to confront this issue.