Alliance trust, dependence, and sovereign capability

Trusting an ally differs from arranging national defence so that essential capabilities exist only through that ally. US policy contains a recurring tension between encouraging allied dependence as a source of influence and demanding that allies carry more of their own burden. Post-Cold War governments eliminated whole capabilities on the assumption that partners, especially the United States, would always provide them. Earlier NATO specialization was more resilient because nations retained core competence while allowing different members to lead particular roles. Interoperability can multiply national forces, but operational independence still requires a domestic core for every essential capability.