page_title: Military alliance
hierarchical_section_title: Military alliance
context_page_description: A military alliance is an international agreement concerning national security in which the contracting parties agree to mutual protection and support in case of a crisis that has not been identified in advance. Military alliances differ from coalitions, which formed for a crisis that already exists.
  Military alliances can be classified into defense pacts, non-aggression pacts, and ententes. Alliances may be covert or may be public.
context_section_description: A military alliance is an international agreement concerning national security in which the contracting parties agree to mutual protection and support in case of a crisis that has not been identified in advance. Military alliances differ from coalitions, which formed for a crisis that already exists.
  Military alliances can be classified into defense pacts, non-aggression pacts, and ententes. Alliances may be covert (as was common from 1870 to 1916) or may be public.
caption: European military alliances prior to World War I – Triple Entente and Triple Alliance