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

Protection or Pressure?

I really believe international alliances can make the world safer, but they can also create tension if they are not handled carefully. Alliances are usually formed to protect countries and prevent conflict. For example when countries promise to defend each other it can stop other countries from attacking because no country wants to fight a group of countries at the same time. So international alliances can be like a warning sign that helps keep the peace.

International alliances can also divide the world into different groups that do not get along. When one group of countries joins and they become stronger other ones can feel scared of them. Respond by creating their own alliances or improving their armies creating a feeling of pressure and insecurity that as a result can cause countries to not trust each other and become rivals. If we look at history we can see that before World War I, a system of international alliances actually helped to turn a small fight into a much bigger war because countries had to support their allies.

In my opinion international alliances are not bad. Instead, I think they are good as they are like tools of protection( in economy, wars...) that countries can use. If countries use alliances to work together, share ideas and security to each other they can reduce fights e.g. NATO. However, if countries use international alliances to compete with each other for power or to keep other countries out they can cause more tension. What really matters is how responsibly countries choose to use this tools.