Alliances let minor states fight wars they lack the capacity to reach.

Evidence

Using willingness compliments the opportunity approach to politically relevant dyads. In the last Gulf War (2003), we have dyads like Poland-Iraq which do not fall under the opportunity definition of political relevance. Poland does not have the opportunity, but it does have the willingness to fight. Clearly, having a major power ally can solve the opportunity problem. Based solely on opportunity, many of the “impossible but happens” disputes involve this sort of situation, multilateral disputes where a major power aids officially or unofficially the minor power. For example, Morocco was involved in militarized disputes with Zaire in the late 1970s. This was because U.S. aircraft transported Moroccan troops to fight in Zaire. Likewise, the Soviets helped the Cubans get involved in Angola. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 1440

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Milgrom law-merchant material on how institutions substitute for conditions individuals lack — here a patron substitutes for geographic reach.
• SEED: Essay angle: ‘wars nobody expected’ — how multilateral patronage repeatedly dragged geographically remote states into combat.