When Do Ideological Enemies Ally?

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Published: Summer 2021

It was announced, that a pact of mutual assistance has been negotiated between the British, French, and Soviet governments. It is stated that the British Cabinet is sending their draft of the fact, negotiated mainly by Lord Halifax during his visit to Geneva, to Moscow and Paris for approval within the next twenty-four hours. From left to right are Georges Bonnet, the French Foreign Minister, Ivan Maisky, the Russian Ambassador in London, and Lord Edward Halifax, the British Foreign Minister, at Geneva, Switzerland, on May 25, 1939, during the negotiations on the proposed pact.

Two variables help determine whether ideological enemies are likely to ally against a shared material threat. States’ susceptibility to domestic ideological changes, or regime vulnerability, and the nature of states’ ideological differences are two contending forces that influence alliance formation or failure. Levels of regime vulnerability and the ideological distances that separate states can explain the nature of cross-ideological coalitions.

Recommended citation

Mark L. Haas, "When Do Ideological Enemies Ally?" International Security, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Summer 2021), pp. 104–146, https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00413.