The Defensive League of Ancient Greece
Back in the 5th century BC, a collective of Greek city-states came together to create a defensive coalition known as the “Defensive League.” This alliance aimed to shield its members from the looming threat of the Persian Empire.
Athens, being the most dominant city within this group, gradually began to accrue more power. The leaders decided to relocate the coalition’s shared treasury from Delos to Athens, supposedly for security reasons. They also made aggressive moves against those allies who attempted to withdraw from the coalition, and it wasn’t long before they casually referred to it as “Our Empire.”
One bold move was when Athenian leader Pericles tapped into the League’s treasury to fund construction projects in Athens, including the famous Parthenon. When other city-states voiced their concerns, Pericles countered by suggesting that the treasury functioned more like a fund for protection rather than a conventional military budget. His rationale? As long as the Persians didn’t invade, they could utilize the funds however they wished.
This approach, of course, doesn’t really foster good relations with allies. It’s not just a matter of exploitation; it can be counterproductive. Following that, during the Peloponnesian War, Athens found itself occupied with quelling rebellions amongst its allies as much as it was focused on combatting Sparta.
Fast forward to now, and it seems the United States has mirrored this kind of foreign relationship for several decades. We’ve assumed a hegemonic role akin to that of Athens, yet, instead of squeezing resources from our allies, we seem to compel them to undermine us.
Recently, Kuwait, a country where many American lives were lost defending, has started strengthening military ties with China. It’s a curious situation, particularly given that Kuwait still relies heavily on American protection against Iran.
Moreover, the U.S. has significantly contributed to Kuwait’s massive Al Zour refinery, and yet Kuwait’s government remains deeply indebted to the United States to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Closer to home, in Mexico, Bill Clinton once intervened to rescue $20 billion, with annual remittances from the U.S. now reaching around $60 billion. Paradoxically, state-run oil firms have refused to pay American contractors roughly $1.2 billion that they owe.
Things are even dicier with NATO nations. Before the crisis in Ukraine, only six out of 32 members invested adequately in defense, missing the 2% GDP spending mark.
Instead of using those funds for defense, many of these countries opted to enhance their welfare systems, somewhat akin to Athens building its Parthenon. This has also weakened domestic energy efforts, leading to increased reliance on Russian oil, a nation these allies should ideally be countering.
However, the aggressiveness of President Putin and the pressures from former President Trump have led to a notable increase in nations reaching that 2% target—from just six to 23.
If the goal is to cultivate strong alliances, being a good ally is essential. This requires steering clear of meddling under the guise of “international development” or the “promotion of democracy.” What’s really needed is a clear discussion about our national interests and how to advance them together.
Athens focused on its own agenda, which inevitably led to its own downfall. Perhaps it’s time for us, in light of recent changes, to reassess our own path.
