Enhancing The Security Autonomy Model

This thesis focuses on the study of alliances and their internal dynamics. It examines the effects of divergent foreign policy decisions and domestic political factors on alliance behavior using two historical cases, the Triple Alliance of 1882 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of 1949. The study tests two hypotheses and applies the findings to the current dynamic within NATO involving the United States and the European Union (EU). First, it identifies key factors within the security-autonomy, capability-aggregation, domestic politics, and institutionalization models of alliance behavior and determines if divergent foreign policy decisions are omitted as a key factor. Second, the study tests and analyzes two historical cases to examine if domestic political factors and divergent foreign policy actions by less powerful alliance members are important factors in alliance dissolution or realignment. The findings appear to support both hypotheses. The subsequent analysis yields a possible enhancement of the security-autonomy model and a recommended change to U.S. policy supporting greater EU security independence.