The Entangling Mr. Chiang.

By definition all alliances entangle. To have value to its signatories, to survive stresses and strains, an alliance must be based on mutual interests. Paper bonds alone do not tie effectively. An alliance will prove reliable only as long as all the signatories continue to fear the contingency, or party, against which it was originally directed. There must be, moreover, reasonable assurance that, acting together, the signatories are capable of meeting the contingency. Above all, an alliance should serve the interests of all parties, and not merely the interests of one to the detriment of the others.