V. Sh. GEVORGYAN, Lieutenant Colonel (Res.), Research Fellow, Center for Research on the History of Military Art, NDRU, MOD, RA

SUMMARY

Military-political coalitions or alliances as political or military-political unions of a number of states do play an important part in providing their sovereign state security and stability in international relations. They allow the allies to effectively collaborate in the military sphere, protect their interests and act in the international arena as influential actors. Nevertheless, the history bears cases of unsuccessful coalitions, which disintegrated pretty soon and even boiled down to war between its former members.

On the example of the Triple Alliance the article analyzes a number of approaches to the formation of coalitions. The Triple Alliance was established by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck-Schönhausen’s direct efforts due to the conclusion of a secret treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in Vienna on May 20, 1882. But even after the treaty was signed, despite all efforts, it was impossible to eliminate the historical and political discrepancies between the members of the Alliance, which ultimately led to its collapse due to Italy’s refusal to enter the WWI against the Entente, the declaration of neutrality in 1915, and the engagement into the war on the side of the Entente in 1917.

By way of analyzing the pre-WWI interests of the members of the Triple Alliance and the discrepancies among them, it becomes possible to reveal the significance of the incorrect assessment of external historical and political calculation of the resources and interests of members of military-political alliances vital for the duration of their existence.