The Transformation of Alliance: A Conceptual Analysis

After the Cold War,the drawbacks of military alliance gradually emerged,and the theories of alliance uselessness and the end of alliance took place from time to time. But the reality is that military alliance has not become relics. Alliance transformation is the most important reason for its continuation. With transformation,alliance achieves interest re-coordination,function re-setting,relation adjustment and strategic re-negotiation,which keep alliance persisting in changing external and internal conditions. After the Cold War,the United States has pushed the adjustment and transformation of its alliance around the world in order to keep its hegemonic status. NATO's transformation,the re-adjustment of the Asia-Pacific alliance,and the rise of volunteer alliance are typical representations of the great transformation of current world alliance,which provide a great number of case study samples on this topic. Alliance transformation intensifies the fragmentation of China's security environment. China should continue its strategic pattern of partnership without alliance,be ready to take wedge strategy to divide hostile alliance.