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How do domestic politics affect the management of alliances? Contra Snyder (1984), I argue that states' alliance management strategies do not arise solely in response to the external threat environment but rather differing perceptions of it by party leaders. I illustrate my argument through a plausibility probe of the U.S.-South Korean military alliance, demonstrating how South Korean leaders' partisan interpretations of the threat environment affected intra-alliance bargaining in the coordination of military affairs. Consistent with the framework developed here, I find that partisan differences do a better job explaining alliance dynamics over the past quarter century than systemic factors alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NATO needed to keep the Soviet Union at bay and prevent Europe from once again becoming a battlefield, so NATO accepted some members whose governments were not yet democratic, like Turkey and Spain. NATO should put this political relationship at the heart of a new Strategic Concept, shaping a reimagined NATO-EU partnership according to a common vision and a clear division of duties. As the United States and the world begins to adjust to a Biden presidency, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) once again finds itself at a crossroads. Balancing NATO and the EU The Biden presidency is an opportunity to reset Washington's partnerships with both NATO and the EU. [Extracted from the article]