(This is an archived page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book. Current versions are at book contents).
Countries can reduce their requirement for national armed forces by placing their relationships with their neighbours under formal governance, instead of relying solely on independent Self-Protection:
· They can set up formal alliances, based on legally-binding treaties. Article 3 of the NATO treaty is a prime example:
“In order more effectively to achieve the objectives of this Treaty, the Parties, separately and jointly, by means of continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid, will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.”
· Or they can choose to make a treaty which specifies an arbitrating power to which they can refer disputes – which would formalise their relationship as a contract within the Legal Dimension (5.3.5.1).
In either case the relationships between them are subject to forms of law.