Military Allies and Economic Conflict

Economic conflicts among military allies may undermine their strategic alignment. Economic disputes in a wide range of areas–from weapons procurement to international trade to access to natural resources–go back to the very beginning of NATO. In recognition of these challenges, Article 2 of the NATO treaty calls upon the member states to ‘eliminate conflict in their … economic policies’. Examining the causes of such conflicts and efforts to resolve them hold the promise of yielding policy-relevant insights for contemporary public officials and defence strategists as they navigate the current geopolitical environment, including ‘de-risking’ economic relations with a more assertive China. One ally may need to make ‘side-payments’ to others in order to maintain strategic alignment on key security issues.