Agreements between nations constitute the fundamental framework for the ordering of international affairs; and their successes and failures have led to some of the great turning points in modern history. The result of a unique collaboration by historians and political scientists, this book delineates, defines and assesses the idea of pacts and alliances as a key model of political organisation. Anchored by leading academics in the field, it presents numerous case studies covering a broad chronological sweep. Through theoretical and empirical methodology, the contributors address pacts and alliances from the fifteenth century onwards including, among others, the Korean-American and Moscow-Cairo alliances, the Sevres Pact, Turkey's accession to NATO and US alliances around the world. Through a close reading of these historical diplomatic relationships, fundamental yet relatively unaddressed research questions are developed and explored. First, what are the common denominators shared by successful alliances? Second, why do pacts and alliances disintegrate? Third, is the eventual demise of pacts and alliances inevitable?Finally, what are the implications of these issues on pact and alliance making today? This is the first volume to address this wide range of issues, and to bring together researchers and theorists from the historical and political disciplines to provide original and groundbreaking theories of diplomacy. Together, these case studies explore why alliances succeed, why they fail and why it matters. Pacts and Alliances in History is therefore not only important reading for the next generation of policymakers, but will also help frame scholars' enquiries as they try to understand key events in international relations and history.

Foreword - Carole FinkIntroduction - Charles Carter, Tony Crain and Melissa YeagerPart One: why alliances succeedChapter One - William Stueck, 'Power over culture: the US alliance with the Republic of Korea'Chapter Two - Jean Bertrand Ribat, 'Opening the Balance of Power Theory's Black Box, Do We Need a Coordinator?'Chapter Three - James Helicke, 'US and Turkey: a qualified success'Part Two: why alliances failChapter Four - Michael McKoy, 'Same mission, different agendas: coalition dynamics and the Sèvres Pact'Chapter Five - Teddy Uldricks, 'The Alliance that happened too late: reviving the Triple Entente, 1939 and 1941'Chapter Six - Melissa Yeager, 'The European Defence Community: astonishing alliance, predictable collapse?'Chapter Seven - Yasser El-Shimy, 'Moscow-Cairo: the end of an alliance'Part Three: why should we careChapter Eight - Evan Resnick, 'International Politics makes strange (and contentious) bedfellows: explaining US bargaining behaviour in 'alliances of convenience'Chapter Nine - Joshua Su-Ya Wu and Xiaoyu Pu, 'Much ado about nothing? The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the puzzle of 21st century alliances'Chapter Ten - Mark Rice, 'NATO's nuclear fear'Chapter Eleven - Kathleen Burk, 'Is there an Anglo-American Alliance? Or a Pact? Or anything at all?'Conclusion - Melissa Yeager and Michael McCoyBibliographyIndex