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

International alliances, like NATO, are crumbling under unexpected pressure.

Manipulation, external conflict, and outdated policies have begun to show in the form of cracks, yet we refuse to look at them.

To summarize I think international alliances like NATO, lead to tension, and I will be using the example of NATO to prove this point.

Smaller countries look to alliances for help with defence. However that is being taken advantage of by larger countries . For example, the USA has expressed interest in buying Greenland, and even invading if necessary. So now, the alliance NATO stands powerless to protect, because on either side they would be attacking their own members. Unfortunately if this happens, many have come to the conclusion that this would be the end of NATO. So now, what does the alliance stand to give if no one in the alliance trusts one another? What use does it serve if its own members are at war with each other? As a simple answer, it no longer has a purpose.

As a second example from NATO, their military advances are contributing to pollution, without holding its members accountable for cleanup efforts. Current pressure from within NATO calls for a 3% GDP increase, but what no one talks about with that, is even a 3% increase, causes mass greenhouse emissions, and is insanely harmful. A single military jet can produce 15 tonnes of CO2 per hour. On a global scale, military advances mean thousands of military jets operating for thousands of hours. International alliances are made with an objective in mind, and most other purposes are disregarded.

People say that alliances still serve a purpose for global relationships, and creating connections. But the pact forged by paper has not brought the countries earth any closer together. They still quarrel, and many are on significantly deteriorating terms. There is discord within the alliances, and no guarantee the members will actually uphold their promises. The entire idea of alliances depends on trust, so what are they worth if its main pillar has crumbled?

The countries of Earth have never fully trusted one another. There have been peaceful moments, and mutual agreements in the calm. But once a country lets down their guard, they are taken advantage of. Earth isn't united, and it seems more and more it can't be. There will always be an opposition, so no matter what, alliances create tension.