ABSTRACT
Scarcely a day passes without some reference to "alliances" or "international partnership" appearing in the media. This chapter examines an added measure of clarity to our understanding of America's alliances in the contemporary international order. It discusses the concept of alliance in a general sense and explores the US experience with alliances. The chapter examines one of this country's most current foreign commitments— North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—in light of that experience. World politics and national interests change, and with them the nature of whatever bond might exist between two or more nations. To understand the state of NATO, it is important to recognize that a combination of Soviet threat, European weakness, and American ambivalence set the stage for NATO, whose importance to both the United States and Western Europe was undeniable. The United States clearly needs good allies in the modern world; "America alone" has ceased to be a feasible option.
