As with all projects of this size, there are many people to thank.
First, my sincere thanks go to J. David Singer and Melvin Small,
the creators of the original Correlates of War formal interstate
alliance data set. The 1815 to 1980 alliance data presented here
are based largely on their original collection from the 1960s and
its 1980s update. The Correlates of War project pioneered the
scientific study of international relations, and the alliance data
were an integral part of the changes wrought upon the disci-
pline by Singer. It is little wonder that their original data are still
in use forty years later.
Meredith Reid Sarkees, my coauthor for the release of the
updated Correlates of War data set, significantly expanded
upon Singer and Small’s original work and helped greatly with
the development of the 1815 to 2000 data described in these
volumes. Meredith also kindly gave permission for use of por-
tions of our Journal of Peace Researcharticle as part of the intro-
duction to this work.
Ashley Leeds developed a separate data set based on my
extension of the alliance data but with a focus on the specific
provisions in each alliance. Although similarities of research
often breed academic rivalries, Ashley has always been quite
generous with her help during the development of our projects,
answering questions about her coding decisions when we dis-
agree and making suggestions for my own data. The Correlates
of War alliance data set is considerably better because of our
exchanges.
I would also like to acknowledge all the research support I
received from so many students at the University of Alabama
and at the University of Kentucky. This list includes several
semesters of students in my undergraduate-level International
Conflict and Independent Study courses, especially Alexis
Bwenge, John Fogle, Harry Fogler, James Hartmann, Bob Hen-
son, Russ Hubbard, and John-Robert Skrabanek. I also received
excellent graduate assistance from Marc Hutchison, Toby Rider,
Carrie Steele, Scott Wolford, and especially Steve Miller, who
made crucial contributions as deadlines approached.
This project would not have been possible without the care
and patience demonstrated by my publisher, CQ Press. The
emphasis in that last sentence should be placed on the word
patience. CQ Press’s staff have worked diligantly with this proj-
ect for the five years it took to complete, from proposal to final
copy, and have consistently done everything possible to see that
these volumes represent the best possible reference work on
international alliances. No one could ask for a better publishing
house. My sincere thanks go to David Arthur, Emily Bakely,
Mary Carpenter, Mary Marik, Andrea Pedolsky, Anastazia Skol-
nitsky, and Shana Wagger.
The initial idea for these volumes came from my dissertation
adviser, John Vasquez. After I completed my dissertation, he
suggested that I turn the data I had collected into a reference
work so that others could see the coding decisions in the Corre-
lates of War project’s data set and also the context for each of
the interstate alliances. I hope these volumes do justice to his
original vision.
Finally, I thank my family. My children, Doug, Mary, and
Sam, have tolerated many late nights and weekends with me in
front of the computer. My wife has tolerated much more, but
Julia has always provided the absolute best environment for
success—love, friendship, and encouragement. She has made a
difficult project much, much easier.
This book is dedicated to my mom for many reasons. Most
relevant to the subject matter at hand is that my mom has
always been an adept keeper of her own alliance network, man-
aging and nurturing a very large family, for a very long time.
Indeed, I learned everything I know that’s important in this
world from my mom and my dad. Thanks.lxiiiAcknowledgments