Do international alliances always make the world safer, or can they sometimes lead to more tension?

Strength In Numbers

Without the Warsaw Pact, Eastern Europe would be completely different. Alliances can often do more harm than good; countries that are excluded will feel threatened and become anxious, afraid of allies who are building their assets, improving military and expanding land. International alliances affect not only military strategy, but also affect political ideologies that can cement global divisions for decades.

While alliances are created to increase cooperation, they frequently trigger global tension. Excluded countries often feel anxious, leading to a cycle of mistrust. An infamous example is the lead-up to World War One. The Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia, and Britain) created a domino effect. When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, what should have been a local Balkan conflict escalated into a global catastrophe because every nation was pledged to either protect an ally or attack a rival.

A more recent example is the role of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war. Established after World War Two to provide collective security for North America and Europe, NATO operates on the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. To excluded nations such as Russia, NATO’s eastward expansion felt like a strategic threat. The fear of Ukraine receiving NATO protection - and the ultimate impact on Russian security and influence, became a primary driver for the current conflict.

Although, many argue that alliances act as a deterrent. When a country knows it faces a unified front of multiple nations, it may think twice before acting aggressively. This "strength in numbers" can prevent small battles from starting in the first place.

However, alliances are a double-edged sword. They promise protection for some while projecting a threat to others. In global politics, this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty often becomes the very root of the tension it was meant to prevent.