IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/intstu/v56y2019i1p28-45.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Alliance Index: Measuring Alignments in International Relations

Author

Listed:
  • David Erkomaishvili

Abstract

Orthodox approaches developed by Alliance Theory to study alliances are characterized by static and state-centric focus, which exposes theory’s logical limitations. In contrast, modern alignments are marked by continuous oscillations. Alignment stability—according to orthodox Alliance Theory—may be altogether misleading for the explanation of behaviour in alignment. This article theoretically re-conceptualizes the key notion of the orthodox Alliance Theory—the concept of alliance. Building on the basis of isolated but significant fragments of advanced research, the theoretical essence of the Alliance Theory is adjusted to encompass alignment process. Importantly, such a re-calibration bears in on an overlooked element common to all alignments—fluidity. Theoretical modification resulted in two important outcomes. First, the change of the vantage point in explaining alignments theoretically extends the orthodox Alliance Theory’s traditionally limited applicability, which excluded subnational and non-state actors. Second, the change allowed reviewing the essence of alignments focusing on a persistently evolving process, rather than on alignments’ institutional image. Sustained realignment, upgrading or downgrading of cooperative relations between actors and concurrent alignment to rival parties is no more confusing in explaining alignments. The article develops an alignment index and calculates it for the post-Soviet space.

Suggested Citation

  • David Erkomaishvili, 2019. "Alliance Index: Measuring Alignments in International Relations," International Studies, , vol. 56(1), pages 28-45, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:intstu:v:56:y:2019:i:1:p:28-45
    DOI: 10.1177/0020881718825079
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020881718825079
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0020881718825079?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abbott, Kenneth W. & Snidal, Duncan, 2000. "Hard and Soft Law in International Governance," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 421-456, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Phulkerd, Sirinya & Sacks, Gary & Vandevijvere, Stefanie & Worsley, Anthony & Lawrence, Mark, 2017. "Barriers and potential facilitators to the implementation of government policies on front-of-pack food labeling and restriction of unhealthy food advertising in Thailand," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 101-110.
    2. Plotnikova, Evgeniya Vadimovna, 2012. "Cross-border mobility of health professionals: Contesting patients’ right to health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 20-27.
    3. David G. Victor, 2016. "What the Framework Convention on Climate Change Teaches Us About Cooperation on Climate Change," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 133-141.
    4. Rana, Arslan Tariq & Kebewar, Mazen, 2014. "The Political Economy of FDI flows into Developing Countries: Does the depth of International Trade Agreements Matter?," EconStor Preprints 91501, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    5. Jillienne Haglund, 2016. "Leslie Johns. 2015. Strengthening international courts: The hidden costs of legalization. (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press)," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 151-154, March.
    6. Randall Stone, 2013. "Informal governance in international organizations: Introduction to the special issue," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 121-136, June.
    7. Mark Pollack & Emilie Hafner-Burton, 2010. "Mainstreaming international governance: The environment, gender, and IO performance in the European Union," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 285-313, September.
    8. Robert B Kahn & Ellen E Meade, 2018. "International aspects of central banking: diplomacy and coordination," Chapters, in: Peter Conti-Brown & Rosa M. Lastra (ed.), Research Handbook on Central Banking, chapter 17, pages 333-364, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Picard, Pierre M. & Pieretti, Patrice, 2011. "Bank secrecy, illicit money and offshore financial centers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 942-955.
    10. Michael Zürn & Alexandros Tokhi & Martin Binder, 2021. "The International Authority Database," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(4), pages 430-442, September.
    11. Gabriele Spilker & Tobias Böhmelt, 2013. "The impact of preferential trade agreements on governmental repression revisited," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 343-361, September.
    12. Sebastian Oberthür, 2019. "Hard or Soft Governance? The EU’s Climate and Energy Policy Framework for 2030," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 17-27.
    13. Egan Michelle & Guimarães Helena, 2013. "Compliance in the single market," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 14(4), pages 1-28, January.
    14. Julia Rotter & Peppi-Emilia Airike & Cecilia Mark-Herbert, 2014. "Exploring Political Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Supply Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 581-599, December.
    15. repec:got:cegedp:94 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Marta Cominetti & Peter Seele, 2016. "Hard soft law or soft hard law? A content analysis of CSR guidelines typologized along hybrid legal status," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 127-140, November.
    17. Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen & Harro Asselt, 2009. "Introduction: exploring and explaining the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 195-211, August.
    18. Agata Gurzawska & Markus Mäkinen & Philip Brey, 2017. "Implementation of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Practices in Industry: Providing the Right Incentives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-26, September.
    19. Sheila Killian & Philip O'Regan & Ruth Lynch & Martin Laheen & Dionysios Karavidas, 2022. "Regulating havens: The role of hard and soft governance of tax experts in conditions of secrecy and low regulation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 722-737, July.
    20. Anne van Aaken, 2009. "Effectuating Public International Law through Market Mechanisms?," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 165(1), pages 33-57, March.
    21. Heinz Hauser & Alexander Roitinger, 2002. "A Renegotiation Perspective on Transatlantic Trade Disputes," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2002 2002-09, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:intstu:v:56:y:2019:i:1:p:28-45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.