All Alliances Are Multilateral
Rethinking Alliance Formation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6284305 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Benjamin O Fordham (0000-0002-2558-3631, Binghamton University), Benjamin Fordham (Binghamton University), Paul Poast (0000-0001-8930-2758, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 840-865 |
| Publication date | 2016-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022002714553108 |
| OpenAlex | W2312737016 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 23 |
| References cited | 56 |
Alliance formation is a multilateral process. The vast majority of alliance relations are created via multilateral alliances. Moreover, leaders assess the alliance as a whole, not just each prospective partner. Any alliance could have three or more members, so one must understand not just why third parties were included in multilateral alliances, but why they were excluded from bilateral alliances. Unfortunately, current research treats alliance formation as a bilateral process: it theorizes about bilateral alliances and tests hypotheses using dyadic research designs. Reconceptualizing all alliances as originating from a multilateral process reveals that a long-neglected theory, William Riker’s size principle, illuminates the role of power in alliance formation. Using k-adic data to analyze multilateral processes, we find strong support for Riker’s claim about minimum winning coalitions in world politics. Our argument and findings, by highlighting how a fundamental state behavior like alliance formation follows a multilateral process, suggest rethinking much of international relations research
Alliance · Argument (complex analysis · Economics · International relations · International trade · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Process (computing · Sociology · State (computer science · Complex Network Analysis Techniques · Complex Systems and Decision Making · Computer Science · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law
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Great Power Intervention and War
How Alliances Shape Rivalries
Who Joins and Who Fights? Explaining Tacit Coalition Behavior among Civil War Actors
The likelihood of local allies free-riding
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International encyclopedia of the social sciences.
The theory of political coalitions.
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The Origins of Alliances
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An Economic Theory of Alliances
Defense Pacts
Assessing the Dyadic Approach to Interstate Conflict Processes
War, Trade, and Distrust
Complex Dependencies in the Alliance Network
Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions, 1815-1944
Reconstructing the correlates of war dataset on material capabilities of states, 1816–1985
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Eugene
The Peloponnesian War
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Taking Time Seriously
Theory of international politics
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Terminating Alliances
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Back to the Future
Logistic Regression in Rare Events Data
(Mis)Using Dyadic Data to Analyze Multilateral Events
Dangerous Dyads
Alliances, Credibility, and Peacetime Costs
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Signaling Foreign Policy Interests
Birds of a Feather
Inducing Deterrence through Moral Hazard in Alliance Contracts
Democracy, Political Similarity, and International Alliances, 1816-1992
Alliances, Then Democracy
Components of an operational theory of international alliance formation
The Costs of Reneging
Political System Similarity And The Choice of Allies
Tau-b or Not Tau-b
Reliability, Reputation, and Alliance Formation1
Alliance Formation and War
The Classical Liberals Were Right
Diversionary Foreign Policy in Democratic Systems
Alliance Reliability in Times of War
Why is There No Nato in Asia? Collective Identity, Regionalism, and the Origins of Multilateralism
Chain gangs and passed bucks
Alliances
Alliances and Asymmetry
Domestic Political Institutions, Credible Commitments, and International Cooperation
Politics Among Nations
Measuring Alliances
Trade and asymmetric alliances
The geometry of security
| Unique citing works | 23 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,3 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 23 |