Asymmetry Types Of Alliance And Relative Autonomy Generation Of Non-dominant Countries ——Based On The Case Comparison Between NATO And The Warsaw Pact

This article extends James Morrow’s "Autonomy-Security Transaction" model in multilateral asymmetric alliances.The focus is on the differences in the relative autonomy acquisition of non-dominant states in asymmetric alliances due to power asymmetry.Using the conventional arms trade network of the alliance as a proxy variable of the power comparison structure among member states,the social network analysis（SNA）method is used to quantitatively measure the asymmetry of the power structure of the two major alliances,NATO and the Warsaw Pact,and combined with the distribution of nuclear power within the alliance is used to qualitatively define the asymmetric types of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.Controlling for comparable conditions such as checks and balances of power and threat,prevention of re-nationalization,ideological homogenization of member states,and political and economic cooperation beyond military alliances,and on the basis of clarifying the influence of material or immaterial factors such as geographical proximity among Allies and differences in domestic management systems on nondominant countries’ efforts for relative autonomy,this research proposes a new explanation mechanism: the type of alliance asymmetry will form an all-round penetration in all areas of the relationship between dominant and non-dominant states.In a sequential-hierarchical asymmetric alliance,the existence of several major powers can not only form a potential joint force restriction on the excessive proliferation of power in the alliance by the super power,but also lay a solid foundation for the nondominant allies to strive for relative autonomy based on its own strength.The foundation is embodied in three dimensions: promoting the construction of the alliance system,enhancing the resilience of the alliance relationship and constructing the identity of the member states.In a cross-hierarchical asymmetric alliance,the lack of several major powers makes the super power form a power subduction against its weaker allies,which not only significantly reduces the space for the weaker allies to gain relative autonomy from the super country,but also weakens the motive of the super power to restrain itself in the alliance,giving birth to its urge to restrain weak allies,which leads to the lag in the construction of the alliance system,the weakening of the resilience of alliance relations,and the serious suffering of weak allies due to their own domestic and foreign policy autonomy,and difficult to effectively construct the identity of the alliance to which they belonged.NATO and Warsaw Pact during the Cold War test the explanatory power of this theoretical framework in the form of positive and negative cases,respectively.The NATO’s sequential hierarchical asymmetric structure formed by the combination of US and European power,that is,the existence of second-tier powers,provides the possibility to restrain the excessive expansion of US power in the Atlantic alliance.Several secondary powers such as Britain and France have the strength base to strive for relative autonomy,and thus also have the bargaining leverage to participate in the construction of the alliance system.The United States has to take a moderate and restrained approach to the centrifugal tendencies of Western European countries,which in turn will help strengthen the resilience of the alliance between the United States and Europe.Relative autonomy in choosing a development path and a relatively loose foreign policy space have eased the "involuntary dilemma" of Western European countries in NATO,and boosted the effective construction of the identity of the Atlantic community.In the Warsaw Pact,the Soviet Union formed a power subduction against its Eastern European friends.The latter lacked the strength base to jointly restrain the extreme proliferation of Soviet hegemony,which greatly limited the bargaining power of Eastern European countries to participate in the construction of the Warsaw Pact system,and easily led to the Soviet Union’s To deal with the tendency of "big party and great power" and the urge to resort to force when dealing with the centripetal tendencies of Eastern European friends,Soviet-Eastern relations often take the form of military shocks.In addition,Eastern European countries’ autonomy in internal and external policies in the Warsaw Pact was restricted.The Soviet Union’s military intervention in the internal affairs of Eastern European member states directly led to the loss of the latter’s autonomy and security interests.The national dignity was trampled on,and the community identity was difficult to effectively construct.Since the end of the Cold War,NATO has increased from 16 member states before the "eastern expansion" to 30 now,but its power structure is still based on the asymmetric combination of the United States and Europe during the Cold War.This constitutes the material power basis for NATO’s institutional reproduction,functional transformation and its handling of European defense autonomy in the post-Cold War era to reshape the Atlantic security community.