The Promise of Collective Security Author(s): Charles A. Kupchan and Clifford A. Kupchan Source: International Security, Vol.

20, No. 1 (Summer, 1995), pp. 52-61 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2539215 . Accessed: 18/01/2011 12:15
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A. The Promiseof Charles Kupchan Collective Security and

I John J.Mearsheimer's critique of collective securitymisses its mark for three main reasons. First, Mearsheimer employs so narrow a definitionof collective securitythat he of definesaway the issues most centralto evaluatingthe peace-causingeffects Second, he misrepresents how institutions withinthe collectivesecurity family it collectivesecurity acts to promotestability, portraying as based on morby alisticprinciplesthatviolate the logic of power balancing.But collectivesecuforce rityis, ifnothingelse, all about balancingand the aggregationof military against threatsto peace. Indeed, its main advantages over balancing under balancingagainstaggressorsand anarchyare thatit providesformoreeffective environment, thereby making thatit promotesa morecooperativeinternational inter-state rivalry and aggression less likely Third, Mearsheimer's general stems froma theoretical perspective-structuralrealcritique of institutions ism-that ignores the extentto which domestic politics,beliefs,and norms shape state behavior. By explaining war and peace solely in termsof power balancing in an anarchicworld, Mearsheimermountsan attackthatis at once ahistoricaland internally We perspeccontradictory. contendthata theoretical tive that takes power seriously,but not to the exclusion of domestic and poliideational variables,offers richer, a more accuratevision of international tics.It is withinthisvision thatcollectivesecurity an important role to play has in promotingpeace and cooperation.

Defining Collective Security

The case forcollectivesecurity restson the claim thatregulated,institutionalized balancing predicated on the notion of all against one provides more thanunregulated, stability self-help balancingpredicatedon thenotionof each forhis own. Under collectivesecurity, states agree to abide by certainnorms and rules to maintain stabilityand, when necessary,band togetherto stop
and a professor at CharlesA. Kupchanis SeniorFellowforEuropeat theCouncilon Foreign Relations A. Harry Georgetown University. Clifford Kupchanis SeniorForeignPolicy Adviserto Congressman Johnston. The authorswould like to thankRichardBetts, RobertKeohane, George Downs, PeterKatzenstein, Lisa Martin, JackSnyder,and AlexanderWendtfortheircommentson earlierdraftsof thisarticle.
Vol. International Security, 20, No. 1 (Summer 1995), pp. 52-61 ? 1995 by the Presidentand Fellows of Harvard College and the MassachusettsInstitute Technology. of

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| of Security 53 ThePromise Collective

aggression.Stability-theabsence of majorwar-is the productof cooperation. In a world of balancingunder anarchy, statesfendforthemselvesaccordingto the dictates of a hostile internationalenvironment. Stabilityemerges from The key question is whetherregulatedbalancingpredicatedupon competition. the notion of all against one, or unregulatedbalancing predicated upon the notionof each forhis own, is morelikelyto preservepeace. Our taskis to show not is to only thatcollectivesecurity preferable balancing under anarchy, that collectivesecurity a panacea or the ultimateanswer to preventing is war. In his critique,Mearsheimer focuses only on ideal collective security-a variantin which states make automaticand legally binding commitments to respond to aggressionwhereverand wheneverit occurs.He explicitly excludes fromconsiderationotherinstitutional formulations, such as concerts, thatrely on looser and more informal regulationof balancing,arguingthattheydo not constitute collectivesecurity. a resultof this definitional As maneuver,Mearsheimerdirectshis critiqueat a strawman and failsto engage the core conceptual issue at stake:whethersome formof regulated, institutionalized balancing is preferable unregulatedbalancing under anarchy to Of necessity, debate about the value of institutions must focus on generic of formulations, on the performance a specificinstitutional not variant.Any institution thatis predicatedupon theprinciplesof regulatedbalancingand all against one falls into the collective securityfamily Concerts do retain an undercurrent competitive, of self-helpbalancing. But they operate in a regulated, norm-governedenvironmentand are predicated on the logic of all which our against one, not each forhis own. Accordingly, originalterminology, to refers a familyof collectivesecurity organizationsrangingfromideal collective securityto concerts,best captures the underlyingconceptual issues at stake.' Mearsheimer's formulation simply put, analyticallyunsustainable. is, He insists that concertsare "largely consistentwith realism" and logically but "incompatible"withcollectivesecurity, writesthatconcertsentail "coordinated balancing" among "greatpowers thathave no incentive challengeeach to othermilitarily [and] agree on a set of rules to coordinatetheiractions" (p. 35). These featuresare fundamentalattributes collectivesecurityand stand in of
1. For further discussion, see Richard Betts, "Systems for Peace or Causes of War? Collective Security, Arms Control,and the New Europe," International Security, 17, No. 1 (Summer1992), Vol. pp. 5-43; George Downs and Keisuke lida, "Assessing the TheoreticalCase Against Collective in of Security," George Downs, ed., Collective Security Beyond Cold War(Ann Arbor:University the Michigan Press, 1994), pp. 17-21; and Charles Lipson, "Is the Future of Collective SecurityLike the Past?" in ibid., pp. 105-131.

International 20:1 | 54 Security

starkcontrastto the inescapable competition of and self-help strategies realist balancing under anarchy2

The Advantages Collective of Security

The advantages of collectivesecurityfall into two categories:it provides for more effective balancing against aggressors,and it promotestrustand cooperation.
MORE EFFECTIVE BALANCING AGAINST AGGRESSORS

Perhaps because of confusionover what collective securityis, Mearsheimer misunderstands underlying its causal logic. Accordingto Mearsheimer, collective security requiresthatstates "ignore . . . balance-of-power considerations" (p. 33). This characterization fundamentally is mistaken.Collective security addresses head-on the centralconcernof realistswith the competitivenature of the international environment and its propensity trigger to spirals of hostility Fully aware of the war-causingfeatures the international of system, collective security seeks to provide a moreeffective mechanismforbalancingagainst aggressors when they emerge,as well as to make aggression less likely by amelioratingthe competitivenature of international relations.The challenge forproponentsof collectivesecurity not,as Mearsheimer to is writes, show that "institutions the key to managingpower successfully" 27). It is to show are (p. and that thereis value added: thatinstitutions betterthan no institutions are offer improvement an world of balancing under anarchy upon the self-help Collective security provides formore effective balancing against aggressors than balancing under anarchybecause, when it works,it confronts aggressors with preponderantas opposed to merelyequal force.3 Under anarchy,only those states directly threatened the aggressorand stateswithvital interests by in the threatened areas will band together resistaggression.Under collective to
2. See John Mearsheimer, J. "The False Promiseof International Institutions," International Security, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Winter 1994/95), pp. 5-49. The conceptual muddle caused by Mearsheimer's of restrictive definition collectivesecurity also apparentin his discussion of the empiricalrecord is (pp. 33-34). Mearsheimerrefersto the League of Nations and the United Nations as collective security organizations.Neither, however,comes close to fulfilling standardsof ideal collective the The League Covenant and the UN Charterdo not entail automaticand binding commitsecurity. ments to respond to aggressionwith force.Both organizationscreated innercouncils to enhance theinfluence the greatpowers. In theserespects, League and theUN resembleconcerts of the more than theydo ideal collectivesecurity organizations. 3. See Charles A. Kupchan and Clifford Kupchan, "Concerts, A. CollectiveSecurity, theFuture and of Europe," International Security, 16, No. 1 (Summer 1991), p. 117,n. 6. Vol.

ThePromise Collective of Security 55 |

otherstatesare likelyto join theopposing coalition, security, bothbecause they have made eitherexplicitor implicitcommitments do so and because they to have interests protecting international in an orderthattheysee as beneficialto theirindividual security4 Furthermore, even when it does not work,collective at security its worst (thatis, when all memberstates otherthan those directly threatened renegeon theircommitment resistaggression)is roughlyequivato lent to balancing under anarchyat its best. Should non-threatened states opt out of collective action, the remainingcoalition would consist of the same directlythreatenedstates as the alliance that would formthroughbalancing under anarchy. The most powerful critique of the argumentthat collective securityat its worst is roughly equivalent to balancing under anarchy at its best is that collective securityencourages member states to count on the assistance of others,therebyleaving a directly threatened coalitionunderpreparedforwar if the systemunravels (p. 30). In a self-helpworld, the argumentruns, the opposing coalition would have known that it was on its own, and prepared accordingly Because thiscritiquehas been dealt withelsewhere, herewe only summarize the main points of rebuttal.5 First,it is the specter of a collective security organizationunravelingon the eve of aggression that causes concern about directlythreatenedstates being leftunprepared for war. Yet this scenario is highly improbable; the failureof collectivesecuritymechanisms is likely to occur in stages, giving directlythreatenedstates adequate warning that the blockingcoalitionwill not containits fullcomplement members.In addition, of directlythreatenedmembers of a collective securitysystem would be well aware that some of theirpartnersmightdefect;prudence would dictate the maintenanceof force levels greaterthan those needed should all members
4. See ibid., p. 126. Collective securityseeks to expand the realm of privateinterest that even so stateswhose security not immediately is threatened have a stake in preventing aggression.It does not,as Mearsheimerwrites,requirethatstates "not thinkin termsof narrowself-interest" 29). (p. Rather,it seeks to broaden how states definetheirself-interest throughtwo different pathways. First,assuming thatinterests fixedand confinedto realistnotionsof rationalegoism,collective are security altersincentivesso thatstatesmore oftenfindit in theirinterests cooperate as opposed to to compete. Second, collectivesecurityalters the characterof state interests themselves,not just the behavior thatstatesadopt to attainthose interests. Throughprocesses of learningand socialization, statescan come to definetheirinterests more collectiveterms.Throughits participation in in the EU and NATO, forexample, Germanyhas come to defineits interests European rather in than in purely national terms.For furthey discussion,see pp. 57-59 below. 5. See Charles Kupchan, "The Case for Collective Security," Downs, Collective in Security, pp. 59-63.

International Security 20:1 | 56

fulfill commitments collectiveaction. Mearsheimersuggests that,untiloutto rightwar breaks out, states in a collective securitysystem "must trusteach other" and eschew steps to balance against potentialaggressors (pp. 29-30). But it is absurd to suggest that collectivesecurity-even in its ideal formrequires its membersto stand by idly as one among them arms itselfto its are well suited to orchestrating teeth.As we have argued,concerts particularly blocking of pre-aggression deterrence and the earlyformation a preponderant coalition.6 Second, states do not set forcelevels simplyby assessing the capabilitiesof power is required, theenemyand determining how much oftheirown military The level of to given the strength coalitionpartners, achieve preponderance. of by military capabilitymaintainedby a given stateis affected its generalthreat but environment, also by a complex mix of politicaland economic considerations. There is no one-to-oneratio between externalthreatand force level. and publics become generallymore Rather,as threatsincrease,governments willing to devote increased resources to the output of defense goods. Force not levels rise with the political will to support the necessaryexpenditures, only as military plannerscalculate what it will take to defeatthe enemy When a faced with an increasingly hostile adversary of growing military strength, directlythreatenedstate in a collective securitysystem would devote more resourcesto defense,just as it would in an alliance system.Indeed, it may well maintainforcelevels roughlyequivalent to the levels it would maintainas a memberof a defensivealliance. to of Third,although freeridingmay contribute the underproduction military capability,there is no compelling deductive reason why the free-rider problemshould produce a weaker opposing coalitionunder collectivesecurity All than under balancing under anarchy.7 coalitions,includingdefensivealliances, can fall prey to freeriding.Indeed, the historicalexample that Mearsheimer uses to illustrate the free-rider problem is that of intra-alliance France,and Russia duringWorld War I (pp. 31buck-passingamong Britain, 32). Again, the key question is not whethercollectivesecurityis flawless,but
and the Futureof Europe," pp. 1386. See Kupchan and Kupchan, "Concerts,CollectiveSecurity, that 144. Collectivesecurity institutions do not make responsesto aggressionautomaticand legally every local binding also take care of Mearsheimer's charge that collectivesecurity"transforms conflict"by mandating that all membersrespond to every act of conflictinto an international as mutual restraint in a aggression (p. 32). Concerts can play as important role in orchestrating coordinating collectiveaction. Case AgainstCollective 7. For further discussion,see Downs and lida, "Assessing the Theoretical Security," 26-29. pp.

| of Security 57 ThePromise Collective

thanbalancing under whetherit detersand blocks aggressorsmore effectively

anarchy8
PROMOTING TRUST AND COOPERATION

emperformance poses particular Assessmentof collectivesecurity'shistorical most pirical problems because it is when collective securityis functioning to effectively that its benefitsmay be difficult discern.9Collective securityis preferableto balancing under anarchy not only because it provides better in balancing against aggressors,but also because it fostersan environment which aggressionis less likelyto take place. Indeed, its abilityto mitigatethe of world is one of its key advantages. rivalryand hostility a self-help Mearsheimermisrepresents collectivesecurity'sreliance on and promotion is of trustamong statesas one of its chieflogical flaws. "Collectivesecurity an incompletetheory," Mearsheimerwrites,"because it does not provide a satisfactory explanationforhow states overcometheirfearsand learn to trustone among the great another" (p. 30). We acknowledge that basic compatibility among the conditionsnecessaryforthe sucpowers in a systemis foremost is of cessfuloperation of collectivesecurityAnd this compatibility a function in and intentions states,not of theirparticipation a of the underlying interests through mechanisms we collective securitysystem. But collective security, outline in "Concerts,Collective Security, and the Futureof Europe" (pp. 130and reinforces confidencein the inten133) builds on this basic compatibility
could produce a weaker opposing 8. We acknowledge thatit is conceivablethatcollectivesecurity aggression could take place as a coalition than balancing under anarchy.At least hypothetically, about the bolt fromthe blue, or directlythreatenedstates could be dangerously overconfident the to But willingnessof theircoalitionpartners join the fray. forthe reasonsjust enumerated, risks of such an outcome are low. And these risksare well worthtakingin lightof collectivesecurity's considerableadvantages. 9. Mearsheimerincorrectly claims that the empirical record undermines the case for collective years, not, as Mearsheimer security. The Concert of Europe preserved peace in Europe forforty asserts, for eight. The Concert's handling of the Belgian Crisis of 1830-32, the Unkiar-Skelessi question in 1833-34, and the Egyptian Crisis of 1839-41 provides evidence of its successful only afterthe revolutionsof 1848 destroyedthe condioperationafter1823. It ceased to function and CollectiveSecurity, the tionsthatenabled it to operate.See Kupchan and Kupchan, "Concerts, FutureofEurope," pp. 142-143,note81. The League of Nationsenjoyed successes duringthe 1920s, it as Mearsheimerenumerates(p. 33). Admittedly, failed dramaticallyto counterJapanese and nothingto do German aggressionduringthe 1930s. But the existenceof the League had virtually with the status quo powers' underpreparation war and theirinitialinabilityto deter or stop for institution because Germanyand Japan.The UN was neverseriouslytestedas a collectivesecurity of the Cold War.Withthe Cold War only recently over,it is too soon to judge whetherthe UN's is effectiveness on the rise or to determinewhethersome combinationof the Organizationfor for CSCE), NATO, and the Partnership Peace Security and Cooperationin Europe (OSCE, formerly for will emergeas a functioning collectivesecurityinstitution Europe.

International 20:1 | 58 Security

It tions of other states, therebydeepening cooperation.10 promotes a more and in benigninternational environment which statescan devote less attention fewerresourcesto ensuringtheirsurvival and more to improvingtheirwelfare-unless and untilan aggressoremerges.11 a There are profoundadvantages to institutionalizing securitysystemthat a system promisesto deepen accord among statesratherthan letting self-help does not reemerge. take its course and simplyhoping thatgreatpower conflict dilemma,thereby enhancingstabilCollectivesecurity amelioratesthe security Collective ity and reducingthe likelihood of unintendedspirals of hostility12 securitywould also enable states to focus more on absolute as opposed to cooperarelativegains, a conditionthatMearsheimeradmits would facilitate tion (pp. 19-24). A statewill focusmore on absolute gains when itbelieves that the relativegains of otherswill not come back to haunt it. This beliefis in turn based on deep-seated assessments of the intentionsof those states enjoying among memberstatesabout each others' relativegains. By buildingconfidence thus mitigatesthe constraints imposed on coopintentions, collectivesecurity considerations.13 Collective security would not allow erationby relative-gains its membersto focus exclusivelyon absolute gains, but states would be less concernedabout relativegains than in a self-help world. would help statesdefinetheirnational institutions Finally, collectivesecurity in to stabilityEspecially in postinterests ways that contribute international Cold War Europe, where the strategiclandscape is ill-definedand major
in of evolution.The 10. Germany's participation NATO provides an illustration this institutional Federal Republic became part of NATO because of the strategicobjectivesit shared with other members.But the current closeness of Germany'srelationswith its WestEuropean neighborsand but with the United States is a function just of shared interests also of its steady participation not in the web of Westerninstitutions. is hard to imagine that Germany's relations with other It with establisheddemocracieswould be as close as theyare today had thesestatesbeen interacting environment withoutinstitutions. each otheronly as like-mindedpowers in an international 11. In this sense, it is wrong to argue that collectivesecurityworks only when it is not needed. it On the contrary, is self-reinforcing; a collectivesecurityorganizationfunctions, promotes it as thatstates the conditionsthatmake it even more effective. idea is not,as Mearsheimerinsists, The must trusteach otherand be confident thatstatus quo powers "will not change theirminds at a later date" (pp. 29-30). Rather,collective securityaffordsstates the opportunityto be more of confident about the intentions othersuntila given state's behavior proves otherwise. and 12. See Kupchan and Kupchan, "Concerts, CollectiveSecurity, theFutureof Europe," pp. 133137. 13. For example, the United States today would be relatively unconcernedshould Britainacquire a new offensive weapons systemor enjoy a relativegain in a trade deal, not because the United States could best Britainif war broke out or readily find allies to forma blocking coalition,but because it is virtuallyinconceivablethatBritainand the United States would findthemselveson is opposing sides of a conflict. This confidence Britain'sintentions a productof decades of close, in institutionalized cooperation.

ThePromise Collective of Security 59 |

instituand interests, theiridentities powers are in the midst of reformulating of tions will shape, and not just be shaped by,the distribution power. NATO was a responseto, not the cause of,the division of Europe into two competing has blocs. But the institution taken on a lifeof its own despite the collapse of NATO continues considerations thatled to its formation. thebalance-of-power to enable and encourage Germany to define its interestsin European, not and nationalterms.It provides a justification a vehicleforAmerica'scontinued encourages militaryengagementin Europe. Its integratedmilitarystructure thatare objectivesand strategies to establishments formulate nationalmilitary not and outlook. multinational, national,in character not only how its current membersinteractwith NATO's futurewill affect but Sovietbloc definetheirsecurity each other, also how thestatesoftheformer alliance needs. If NATO expands into Central Europe as a defensivemilitary draw a new dividing line between Europe's and then stops, it will effectively east and west. It would be the lines and resultantpower blocs created by not institutions, by other political or ideological cleavages, that would help is, defineforRussia what its new sphereof influence whetherit is a European or a Eurasian power,and whetherits relationswithNATO will be cooperative or competitive.Instead, Russia should be gradually drawn into a European collectivesecuritysystem,increasingthe chances that Russians will come to define themselvesas members of a European communityof nations,not as outsiders. For reasons of its own, Russia may well veer fromthe path of policies incompatiblewithits participademocraticreform and pursue foreign But takingcautious,prudentsteps toward tion in a collectivesecurity system. offers far malign intentions its inclusionunless and untilRussia demonstrates more promiseof preserving peace in Europe than exposing a fragileRussia to world. the vagaries and insecurities a self-help of

ThePoverty Structural Realism of

institutions a fundais Underlyingthisdebate about the value of international of mental difference opinion about the causes of war and peace. In the end, our assessment of the promise of collectivesecuritystems froma theoretical realism. It is perspectivethat is incompatiblewith Mearsheimer's structural therefore appropriateto end this replyby making explicitthe precise areas of disagreement. In Mearsheimer'sworldview,all greatpowers are createdequal. When they to see the opportunity do so, greatpowers will take advantage of one another,

International Security 20:1 | 60

of fearful being exploited laterif theydo not. WorldWar I, WorldWar II, and the Cold War were nothingmore and nothingless than greatpowers actingas they must, given the exigencies of an anarchic,self-helpworld. From within this worldview,collectivesecurity, and international institutions more generally,matterat the margins,if at all. Sooner or later,balance-of-power considerationswill overridethe rules and normsof institutional structures. Collective but securityorganizationsmay be not only irrelevant, also dangerous. States that place illusory faithin collective securitywill find themselvesworse off than had theyacted as if in a self-help, anarchicsetting. In our worldview, all great powers are not created equal. Although the behavior of major states is heavily influenced balance-of-power by considerations, domestic politics, beliefs,and norms mattertoo, and not just at the margins.World War I, World War II, and the Cold War came about not from the warp and woof of international competition, but as a resultof the emergence of aggressor states-states that for reasons of ideology and domestic politics became predatoryand sought power, not securityWilhelmineGerand interwar many,Nazi Germany, Japanwere malign greatpowers infected with virulentdomestic pathologies,not garden-variety great powers dealing with legitimatesecurityconcerns. Each commenced an ambitious military buildup and embarked down the path of aggressionduring peaceful periods in which they faced no imminentsecuritythreats.Domestic politics and nathe tionalism,not just the rivalryof a self-help world, were at play. Similarly, United Statesand theSoviet Union were not equally to blame fortheCold War. The United Statessoughtits share ofwealth and power but,withsome notable exceptions,conducted itselfas a benign great power. Soviet Russia was the and principalaggressorstate in the Cold War,driven in part by vulnerability the search forsecurity, also by domesticand ideological pathologies.14 but Our contention thatit is not only power politicsbut also the natureof both domestic and international societies that affects great-powerbehavior is the basis forour optimismabout thepromiseofcollectivesecurityIt is conceivable that Russia will emerge as a benign, democraticgreat power and that all of the Europe's majorstateswill sharesimilarvalues and interests, underpinnings forthesuccessfulfunctioning a collectivesecurity of Even Mearsheimer system. admitsthatideational variables can play a role in shaping relationships among
14. For discussion of aggressorstates and theircauses, see Charles Kupchan, The Vulnerability of Empire (Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 1994); and Stephen Van Evera, "Primed forPeace: Europe Afterthe Cold War,"International Security, 15, No. 3 (Winter1990/91),pp. 7-57. Vol.

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states. What, afterall, does he mean when he writes that "some states are especiallyfriendly historical ideological reasons" (p. 31)? We submitthat for or framework, he is scratching surfaceof the povertyof his own theoretical the forcedto resortto variables otherthan the balance of power to explain why statessometimescooperate to the extenttheydo. The case for collective securityrests not on woolly-headed moralism or naivete about the demands imposed on statesby power politics.It restson a politics than that offeredby more nuanced understandingof international structural realism. The post-Cold War era offersan excellent laboratoryin perspectivesagainsteach other. one If, whichto pit thesecompetingtheoretical or two decades fromnow,Russia is a fullmemberof a pan-Europeancollective security body,Mearsheimerwill have to recant.If,on the otherhand, collective securityis given a trybut Europe's great powers again fall prey to national founder, will have to reconsider we rivalriesand its multilateral institutions not just collectivesecurity, the theoretical but suppositionsthatundergirdour is confidencein it. Unless collectivesecurity given a chance, however,opporin Europe will be missed and unresolved debates tunitiesto preserve peace of between structural realistsand institutionalists various stripeswill continue to fillthe pages of International Security.