All realists hold that external threats are necessary for alliances to form and persist

Evidence

Classical realism and Waltzian, or structural, neorealism argue that states balance opposing powers. A variant argues that states balance against potential harms represented by tangible power only when intentions are seen as threatening as well. Either view of the origins of alliances is relevant here. Changes in the power or threat the alliance was created to counter puts pressure on the alliance to change. Nearly all realists, however, agree that while threats may not be sufficient to produce alliances, they are necessary. — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 33

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly relevant to an essay argument about institutional persistence past founding threats; establishes the baseline realist expectation for cohesion-driven dissolution that the NATO case contradicts.
• XREF: connects to: Realism explains alliance behavior under threat but fails without one. — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 157; Alliances may persist through habit and precaution after threats recede — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 61; Neorealism cannot explain alliance persistence once threats vanish. — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 61 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Alliances may persist through habit and precaution after threats recede #contradicts (0.95) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 61
• Neorealist theories predict alliances collapse once their external threat fades. #expands (0.93) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 37
• Alliance cohesion rises and falls with the external threat it balances #corroborates (0.92) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 36
• Neorealism cannot explain alliance persistence once threats vanish. #contradicts (0.90) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 61
• Alliances can persist and expand purposes after their founding enemy disappears #contradicts (0.90) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 60
• Alliance theory predicts collapse once threats vanish. #expands (0.90) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 14
• Realism explains alliance behavior under threat but fails without one. #expands (0.88) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 157
• Groups internalize external threat as an oath to preserve cohesion after danger recedes #complicates (0.88) — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 509
• Deeply institutionalized alliances outlast ad hoc ones against realist expectations #contradicts (0.85) — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 161