Unipolarity and the Evolution of America's Cold War Alliances (Electronic book text)

The end of the Cold War has had a profound effect on the operation of America's Cold War alliances. Created initially as 'balance-of-power' instruments - that is, designed to check communist expansion by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies - alliances have since become 'management-of-power' instruments. On one hand, allies now seek to benefit from and have influence over the exercise of American power and, on the other, the United States tries to distribute the burden of maintaining international order and stifle any attempt to balance against it. Using this novel framework, the author demonstrates how management-of-power dynamics are evident in the operations, capabilities, policies and force structures of America's principal alliances - namely, NATO and those with Japan, South Korea and Australia.