Non-aggression pact

A non-aggression pact or neutrality pact is a national treaty between two or more states/countries where the signatories promise not to engage in military action against each other.[1]

Leeds, Ritter, Mitchell, & Long (2002) have distinguished between the concept of the terms non-aggression pact and neutrality pact.[2] Leeds et al. (2002) posit that the term non-aggression pact is considered to be a pact that includes the promise not to attack the other pact signatories, whereas, according to Leeds et al. (2002), a neutrality pact includes a promise to avoid support of any entity that acts against the interests of any of the pact signatories. The most readily recognized example of the aforementioned entity is another country, nation-state, or sovereign organization that represents a negative consequence towards the advantages held by one or more of the signatory parties.[2]

In the 19th century neutrality pacts have historically been used to give permission for one signatory of the pact to attack or attempt to negatively influence an entity not protected by the neutrality pact. The participants of the neutrality pact agree not to attempt to counteract an act of aggression waged by a pact signatory towards an entity not protected under the terms of the pact. Possible motivations for such acts by one or more of the pacts' signatories include a desire to take, or expand, control of, economic resources, militarily important locations, etc.[2]

Such pacts were a popular form of international agreement in the 1920s and 1930s, but have largely fallen out of use after the Second World War. Since the implementation of a non-aggression pact necessarily depends on the good faith of the parties, the international community, following the Second World War, adopted the norm of multilateral collective security agreements, such as the treaties establishing NATO, ANZUS, SEATO and Warsaw Pact.

An example of non-aggression pact is the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact lasted until the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.[1]

It has been found that major powers are more likely to start military conflicts against their partners in non-aggression pacts than against states that do not have any sort of alliance with them.[1]

List of non-aggression pacts

References

  1. 1 2 3 Volker Krause, J. David Singer "Minor Powers, Alliances, And Armed Conflict: Some Preliminary Patterns", in "Small States and Alliances", 2001, pp 15-23, ISBN 978-3-7908-2492-6 (Print) ISBN 978-3-662-13000-1 (Online)
  2. 1 2 3 Brett Leeds, Jeffrey Ritter, Sara Mitchell, Andrew Long, "Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions, 1815-1944", "International Interactions: Empirical and Theoretical Research in International Relations", 2002, vol. 28, issue 3, p. 237-260, DOI: 10.1080/03050620213653
  3. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 108, pp. 188-199.
  4. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 157, pp. 372.
  5. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 148, pp. 114-127.
  6. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 131, pp. 298-307.
  7. ↑ Andrew Wheatcroft, Richard Overy (2009). The Road to War: The Origins of World War II. Vintage Publishers. p. 7.
  8. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 148, pp. 320-329.
  9. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 165, p. 274.
  10. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 161, p. 230.
  11. ↑ R. J. Crampton (1997). Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – And After. Routledge Publishers. p. 105.
  12. ↑ Ruth Hanna Sachs (2002). White Rose History, Volume I. Exclamation! Publishers. p. 246.
  13. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 197, p. 38.
  14. 1 2 R. J. Crampton (1997). Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – And After. Routledge Publishers. p. 105.
  15. ↑ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 203, p. 422.
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