Alliances as means for overcoming geopolitical constraints: a case study of central European alliance politics after 1989

Abstract

Alliances are considered central to the study of international relations, but traditional alliance literature fails to provide a viable framework for analysis of countries' alignment choices. This thesis tests Starr and Siverson's claim that a geopolitical approach to alliances fills this gap. It uses the case of Central European (Polish, Hungarian, Czechoslovak) alliance politics between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. It analyses the Central European leaders' perceptions of security threats and the foreign policy options pursued by them in response to these perceptions. It is argued that Central Europeans pursue alignment with Western powers as a means for dealing with perceived geopolitical and non-geopolitical constraints. The thesis concludes that Starr and Siverson's approach does not provide a viable tool for analyzing Central European alliance politics after the collapse of the Eastern bloc.