Why NATO Endures

Why NATO Endures examines military alliances and their role in international relations, developing two themes. The first is that the Atlantic Alliance, also known as NATO, has become something very different from virtually all pre-1939 alliances and many contemporary alliances. The members of early alliances frequently feared their allies as much if not more than their enemies, viewing them as temporary accomplices and future rivals. In contrast, NATO members were almost all democracies that encouraged each other to grow stronger. The book's second theme is that NATO, as an alliance of democracies, has developed hidden strengths that have allowed it to endure for roughly 60 years, unlike most other alliances, which often broke apart within a few years. Democracies can and do disagree with one another, but they do not fear each other. They also need the approval of other democracies as they conduct their foreign policies. These traits constitute built-in, self-healing tendencies, which is why NATO endures.

Author: Wallace J. Thies
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 07/01/2009
Pages: 334
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 9.31h x 6.16w x 0.74d
ISBN: 9780521749794

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2010

About the Author
Thies, Wallace J.: - Wallace J. Thies is a Yale Ph.D. who has held full-time teaching positions in political science at the University of Connecticut (Storrs), the University of California, Berkeley, and the Catholic University of America. Why NATO Endures is his third book. His two previous books are When Governments Collide: Coercion and Diplomacy in the Vietnam Conflict (1980) and Friendly Rivals: Bargaining and Burden-Shifting in NATO (2003). He has also published articles in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Strategic Studies, International Interactions, Comparative Strategy, and European Security. He has also served as an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, working at the US Department of State, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, and a NATO Research Fellow.