ABSTRACT
Semialignment has emerged as a policy attitude of the weak, aimed at minimizing unwanted or redundant involvement, while rationally maximizing the benefits of association. The idiosyncrasy of Greek semialignment derives from the fact that Greece has perceived a genuine threat to its security from within the alliance itself. Compared to Greece, Denmark, or Norway, the Netherlands has remained a fully aligned member of the alliance. One could characterize it as a case of practical rather than political semialignment, however, in so far as Dutch defence expenditures and the stationing of a single brigade in West Germany are not in accord with the desired NATO level. Canada’s remoteness from Europe and proximity to the United States have forestalled any open declaration of semialignment. There are aspects of semialignment which can be perceived as favourable factors in the overall balance. Alliances with substantial elements of semialignment among their smaller members are restrained from rash and bellicose acts.
