http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/4391/elizabeth-calos Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 12 Jun 2026 22:00:56 -0400 Fri, 12 Jun 2026 22:00:56 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1614/the-weakest-link-credible-deterrence-threats-and-alliance-entrapment By Elizabeth Calos - Over the past 20 years, the international order has been characterized by the conflict between the United States' desire for isolationism and its desire to maintain hegemony. While the United States has initiated and continued wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that are increasingly unpopular with alliance members, it has also focused on increasing NATO buy-in and has become involved in conflicts, like the one in Libya, at the insistence of its NATO partners. These contradictory trends raise interesting questions about the importance of defensive alliances as a method of deterring conflict. The United... Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1614/the-weakest-link-credible-deterrence-threats-and-alliance-entrapment