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Political and Military Bonds in the Italian State System, Thirteenth to Sixteenth Centuries

Maria Nadia Covini

in War and Competition between States

This chapter considers the Italian political system from the middle of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th centuries. It examines the political and military powers which operated on the peninsula ... More

This chapter considers the Italian political system from the middle of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th centuries. It examines the political and military powers which operated on the peninsula during this period and identifies the factors of change, elements of conflict, and the multiplicity of factors involved. It addresses questions concerning the relationships of interdependence created within the system between the major states and other autonomous holders of political power, and the competitive dynamics and consequent selection of the competitors.Less

Strategic Aspects of Fighting in Alliances

Kai A. Konrad

in The Economics of Conflict: Theory and Empirical Evidence

This chapter examines the scope for alliance formation in conflict, focusing on aspects and considerations in alliance formation that offset the strategic disadvantages. It considers (1) ... More

This chapter examines the scope for alliance formation in conflict, focusing on aspects and considerations in alliance formation that offset the strategic disadvantages. It considers (1) supermodularity in alliance members’ efforts; (2) budget constraints that are sufficiently tight to remove the strategic problems of free-riding and holdup; (3) the potentially beneficial role of a threat of internal conflict, as an incentive for overcoming the free-riding problem in making contributions to the alliance effort; (4) possible benefits from information transfers among members of an alliance; (5) the role of multiple fronts if alliance members are resource constrained and can mutually support each other by resource transfers; and (6) evolutionary forces that generate in-group favoritism and spiteful behavior toward the out-group.Less

Introduction: Why are Allies so Unpredictable?

von Hlatky Stéfanie

in American Allies in Times of War: The Great Asymmetry

How can secondary states hope to gain in the US global alliance network? Allies benefit from American extended deterrence but are sometimes called upon to make military contributions when the US ... More

How can secondary states hope to gain in the US global alliance network? Allies benefit from American extended deterrence but are sometimes called upon to make military contributions when the US launches a military intervention. Yet, the diversity of allied responses in times of war is perplexing. Allies differ widely in the type and scope of their military contributions and sometimes, opt out altogether. The book introduces a theory to better understand the level and scope of military cooperation between democratic allies, with a focus on US allies. Taking international relations and foreign policy theories into account, the argument is that secondary allies appear unpredictable because they must balance alliance considerations against domestic constraints. This chapter lays out the central puzzle and research design, while providing an overview of the book. Finally, this chapter introduces a typology of intra-alliances strategies used to compare the case studies.Less

The Fragility of Alliance Diplomacy

Paul Poast

in Arguing about Alliances: The Art of Agreement in Military-Pact Negotiations

This introductory chapter provides an overview of alliance treaties. Alliance treaties are documents calling on the signatories to cooperate in responding with active military force to a ... More

This introductory chapter provides an overview of alliance treaties. Alliance treaties are documents calling on the signatories to cooperate in responding with active military force to a non-signatory's aggression. The documents are written and signed by official representatives of states, and the signatory states become allies. The military action specified in the document can be either offensive or defensive. Defensive action entails protecting another signatory under attack, while offensive action entails protecting a non-signatory by attacking its aggressor. Reflecting the variety of documents that can constitute an alliance treaty, a negotiation can be a simple conversation between diplomats or a series of formal meetings involving officials from numerous countries. A negotiation concludes in either agreement, meaning it produces an alliance treaty signed by all the participants, or nonagreement, meaning the talks end without a signed alliance treaty and the participants have no plans to continue the talks. This book assesses why alliance treaty negotiations end in agreement or nonagreement. Since states have attempted but failed to negotiate alliance treaties, there is a need to explore the process that distinguishes groups of states that form alliances from groups of states that attempt to do so but fail. Only then can one truly understand the meaning and purpose of military alliances.Less

In the American Era

Michael Doran

in Pan-Arabism Before Nasser: Egyptian Power Politics and the Palestine Question

This chapter follows Ismail Sidqi's successor, Mahmud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi, as he attempted to enlist the support of the United States in an effort to break Britain's grip on Egypt. The al-Nuqrashi ... More

This chapter follows Ismail Sidqi's successor, Mahmud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi, as he attempted to enlist the support of the United States in an effort to break Britain's grip on Egypt. The al-Nuqrashi government, hoping to capitalize on the tensions created by the Cold War, placed the question of Anglo-Egyptian relations before the United Nations, demanding the abrogation of the existing treaty of alliance. The Egyptian appeal to the Security Council was in essence a call for help from the United States government. Considerable support for the Egyptian position did exist in Washington, where many officials feared that the Anglo-Egyptian conflict would redound to the detriment of the West in its struggle against the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, the Americans regarded the continuation of the Anglo-Egyptian military alliance as necessary for the defense of the Middle East. Consequently, they took a line in the Security Council that in effect killed the Egyptian appeal.Less

Conclusion: Overcoming the Great Asymmetry

von Hlatky Stéfanie

in American Allies in Times of War: The Great Asymmetry

This concluding chapter provides an overview of the book's main findings. It highlights the importance of domestic constraints in foreign policy decision making for democratic allies. Decisions on ... More

This concluding chapter provides an overview of the book's main findings. It highlights the importance of domestic constraints in foreign policy decision making for democratic allies. Decisions on the use of force are tied to the political and material resources that the foreign policy executive has at its disposal. The scale of military cooperation increases as domestic-level constraints decrease. The chapter also provides a brief summary of the case study analysis, showing how political and military constraints impacted on military contributions made by the UK, Canada and Australia during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Finally, this chapter discusses the broader theoretical and policy implications of the book, with insights on the relationship between democracy and foreign policy.Less

Yasue Norihiro, Inuzuka Koreshige, and Japan's Policy toward the Shanghai Jewish Refugees, December 1937–December 1939

Gao Bei

in Shanghai Sanctuary: Chinese and Japanese Policy toward European Jewish Refugees during World War II

Chapter Three elucidates how after Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, and after Japan drove the Chinese Nationalists from Shanghai, the Japanese treated the Jewish refugees in China ... More

Chapter Three elucidates how after Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, and after Japan drove the Chinese Nationalists from Shanghai, the Japanese treated the Jewish refugees in China less harshly than the Nazis wished. Instead of exterminating the Jews, the Japanese tried to take advantage of purported Jewish financial and political power to support Japan's conquest of China and East Asia. From the late 1920s to the early 1930s the Japanese military assumed control over Japan's foreign policy. The military's leading role in determining Japan's foreign policy made it possible for Army and Navy “Jewish problem experts” to convert their ideas into national policy. Colonel Yasue and Captain Inuzuka were either individually or jointly responsible for making Japan's Jewish policy in 1938 and 1939. Japan and Germany had not yet reached an agreement establishing a formal military alliance. This delayed radical and pro-German groups in the military from coming to power.Less

Pakistan

in Cutting the Fuse: The Explosion of Global Suicide Terrorism and How to Stop It

This chapter examines the groups responsible for suicide terrorism in Pakistan, including their objectives, state sponsorship, targeting patterns, local community support, and recruitment. It shows ... More

This chapter examines the groups responsible for suicide terrorism in Pakistan, including their objectives, state sponsorship, targeting patterns, local community support, and recruitment. It shows that the initiation and trajectory of the Pakistani suicide campaign are functions of the evolving political and military alliance between the United States and Pakistan since 2002. The chapter also evaluates the consequences of the recent escalation of U.S. drone attacks in the region.Less

Unleashing the Dogs of War

Zara Steiner

in The Triumph of the Dark: European International History 1933-1939

This chapter focuses on Adolf Hitler's military action aimed at settling the ‘Polish question’ in the wake of the Anglo-French guarantees in March 1939. It considers Hitler's belief that Britain was ... More

This chapter focuses on Adolf Hitler's military action aimed at settling the ‘Polish question’ in the wake of the Anglo-French guarantees in March 1939. It considers Hitler's belief that Britain was Germany's most dangerous adversary and the main obstacle to his programme of territorial expansion, along with his response to British interference in Poland. It also examines Hitler's efforts to convince the Poles to acknowledge Germany's hegemonic position in Europe and accept a satellite role, Italy's military alliance with Germany, and Hitler's signing of the orders for ‘Operation White’ in April 1939 to wage war against Poland.Less

The Cherokee War and Imperial Triumph

John T. Juricek

in Colonial Georgia and the Creeks: Anglo-Indian Diplomacy on the Southern Frontier, 17331763

This chapter discusses the events which led to the confrontation between English and the French and the Cherokee combined. It also takes into account the outcome of the realization of the Creeks of ... More

This chapter discusses the events which led to the confrontation between English and the French and the Cherokee combined. It also takes into account the outcome of the realization of the Creeks of the need to find a way to unite so they could speak with one voice and act accordingly. Two main events shaped the course of the colonies and the Franco-British war for the control of North America. Firstly, the English blundered into a costly war with the Cherokees in late 1759 and secondly the secret agreement between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain brought Spain into the North American war in early 1762 which led the course of the imperial triumph.Less

The Mayfield Convention

Berry Craig

in Kentucky Confederates: Secession, Civil War, and the Jackson Purchase

Purchase disdain for neutrality led some citizens to call for a military alliance with Tennessee or for regional secession and the formation of a Confederate state with West Tennessee. Delegates to a ... More

Purchase disdain for neutrality led some citizens to call for a military alliance with Tennessee or for regional secession and the formation of a Confederate state with West Tennessee. Delegates to a convention in Mayfield in May ultimately abandoned both proposals because they believed the rest of the state was bound to secede anyway. But apparently no other part of a loyal border state considered such an unprecedented move during the Civil War.Less

Killed on the Path: Cherokees in the Campaigns against Fort Duquesne

Daniel J. Tortora

in Carolina in Crisis: Cherokees, Colonists, and Slaves in the American Southeast, 1756-1763

This chapter discusses Cherokees' involvement in the British campaigns against Fort Duquesne. Cherokees and others served vital and often underappreciated roles, like scouting enemy operations; ... More

This chapter discusses Cherokees' involvement in the British campaigns against Fort Duquesne. Cherokees and others served vital and often underappreciated roles, like scouting enemy operations; sharing their customs, beliefs, and medicines; participating in diplomatic relations for the benefit of all; and so on. Given their contributions, the proposal for Cherokee involvement in a larger push toward Fort Duquesne in 1758 seemed straightforward. But the 1758 Fort Duquesne campaign shattered the Anglo-Cherokee military alliance. Over a three-year period, one thousand Cherokees had served as British military allies. Some had traveled nearly three thousand miles and had provided valuable assistance. Yet thirty-seven warriors had died—not fighting their Indian enemies but at the hands of those who they thought were their allies: the Virginia frontiersmen. Maligned, misunderstood, and murdered, despite their military and diplomatic contributions, the Cherokees were more disaffected than ever.Less

Persia Redivivus

Paul A. Rahe

in Sparta's First Attic War: The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta, 478-446 B.C.

This chapter looks at how the Persians coped with their defeat during the war. In 480 BCE, Xerxes son of Darius, the Achaemenid king of Persia, withdrew to Sardis in western Anatolia. The following ... More

This chapter looks at how the Persians coped with their defeat during the war. In 480 BCE, Xerxes son of Darius, the Achaemenid king of Persia, withdrew to Sardis in western Anatolia. The following year, as events unfolded in mainland Greece and Ionia, he waited patiently in the ancient Lydian capital, providing guidance insofar as communications allowed and anxiously awaiting news—at least until, one must suspect, the arrival of a report concerning Persia's defeat. If Xerxes was dismayed at the outcome of his war with the Hellenes, he certainly did not let on. Yet despite the defeat of the Achaemenid Empire, events were already unfolding in Hellas which led to the gradual division of the once-great military alliance of the Greeks. Things were beginning to unfold to the Persians' advantage.Less

Journeys of Discovery: The State Visits of Jawaharlal Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan to the United States

Pallavi Raghavan

in India and the Cold War

This chapter explores the geopolitical legacy of colonialism between India and Pakistan, and the United States, by investigating the influence over trade, military alliances, and international ... More

This chapter explores the geopolitical legacy of colonialism between India and Pakistan, and the United States, by investigating the influence over trade, military alliances, and international politics. The chapter covers India and Pakistan’s foreign policy and factors that lead up to the transfer of power. The chapter focuses on preexisting colonial ideas and strategies that optimized India’s, Pakistan’s, and the United States’ positions during the Cold War.Less

China’s Evolving Naval Presence in the Indian Ocean Region: An Indian Perspective

Srikanth Kondapalli

in India and China at Sea: Competition for Naval Dominance in the Indian Ocean

In this chapter, the author examines the various elements of China’s security presence in the Indian Ocean. He argues that while a ‘flag-following-trade’ policy was visible earlier, China’s policy ... More

In this chapter, the author examines the various elements of China’s security presence in the Indian Ocean. He argues that while a ‘flag-following-trade’ policy was visible earlier, China’s policy today is to influence the structure of maritime power in the Indian Ocean region through strengthening its offshore defence capabilities. This involves the development of semi-military alliances, dual-use port facilities, stationing of non-combat troops initially abroad, Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW) missions and arms transfers to the region. He concludes that while China has succeeded in entering into the Indian Ocean region, it faces formidable challenges from the United States, India and others and the limitations on China’s power projection capabilities are becoming increasingly clear.Less