NATO and Military Alliances

Alliances are a critical part of the Western way of war and an enduring source of strength. Our research examines the detail behind alliances’ success or failure.



NATO and Military Alliances

Ron Przysucha, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons | Inside the Brussels NATO Headquarters


If NATO, the Five Eyes intelligence community, the Five Power Defence Agreement, the Commonwealth and other alliances sit at the heart of any UK defence philosophy, why is so little attention paid to them between periodic defence reviews? And, conversely, if the current set of partnerships are deemed to be sufficient, why has there been a significant growth in new alliance structures and arrangements over the past decade?

Understanding the dynamics of alliances and partnerships is essential if we are to grasp how these agreements, which sit at the heart of national assumptions on defence and security, will need to evolve in the future.

Ron Przysucha, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons | Inside the Brussels NATO Headquarters

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