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

I disagree that international alliances always makes the world safer.

The reality is that international alliances don’t always contribute to a more secure world. In fact, they can sometimes exacerbate conflicts. Technically, international alliances such as NATO are designed to provide security, “an attack against one is an attack against all.” This sounds good in theory, but in practice, international alliances can actually contribute to conflict.

A good example of this is the recent international conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. In the early part of 2026, the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on military targets in Iran. In retaliation, Iran launched a missile and drone attack on Israeli and United States targets. This is a conflict that started out as a contained event but has escalated to affect the skies, global energy supplies, and neighboring countries. For many people, this is a situation that is affecting them, such as families, students, and workers, and they are suddenly becoming aware of the effect of international conflicts on their lives, despite them possibly living far away from the conflict.

Some people believe that strong alliances can actually prevent aggression and stop nations from taking unilateral action. They believe that the knowledge that there are allies to support them prevents nations from acting foolishly. I can see that, to a certain degree. I can see how the knowledge that there are many nations behind them can actually empower weaker nations. However, when the response to aggression is military action, and that military action is not backed up by diplomatic support, the situation can actually become more dangerous. In this case, what was intended to create safety has actually created a cycle of retaliation, and the people are the ones who are suffering.

I believe that alliances can actually create stability, as long as they are not the kind of alliances that promote politics that are confrontational rather than communicative.

The question, therefore, is not whether alliances exist, but whether they actually create peace, or whether they actually make misunderstandings more dangerous than they have ever been.