Why a Powerful State Does Not Ally with a Weaker State

2021 Words9 Pages
Introduction: Since there are various reasons why states ally, in international relations much research is done in determining when states ally and their choices for doing so. However, I am more fascinated in learning what factors go into a powerful state waiving an alliance with a weaker state. A weak state could be defined as a state with little or no military capabilities, few resources, little naval capabilities, and a high amount of specialization, since they are dependent on other states for security. A state could be considered powerful if it has a strong military, abundance or great amount of available resources, and a strong navy. I am interested in why the powerful state decided to abandon any potential benefits they could have enjoyed if they did ally with the weaker state. In investigating this, Great Britain-Czechoslovakia relations, and Georgia-NATO relations are helpful examples. Question: Since not a lot of people focus on why states do not ally, I believed focusing on this side of an alliance, or lack thereof, could help me better understand about what factors most strongly influence a state’s refusal to ally with another state. I wanted to address the question: When do powerful states choose not to ally with a weaker state? Because the denial of a state joining an alliance has not occurred often I would like to clarify the critical reasons why powerful states make the decision to refrain from allying with a weaker state. What others have said: From my research I found there have been no studies that directly ask when a powerful state passes up on allying with a weaker state. However, there has been research done when looking at the reasons why powerful states do ally with weaker states. As mentioned in class, powerful states generally ally with weaker states for their geographical position in the world. Before states join an alliance they
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