A new study from Ohio State University found that countries may be less prone to waging wars against the friends of their allies.
The results of the study, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, indicate that countries with indirect relationships are better equipped to prevent major armed conflicts with each other compared to others. This suggests that the formation of international coalitions may be more important than previously thought. The researchers also noted a surprising finding: countries that are three degrees separated are more likely to be friendly, while the chances of countries going to war with their allies and the allies of their allies are lower.
The lead author of the study and Associate Professor of Political Science, Skyler Cranmer, stated, "The impact of making peace for an alliance between two countries extends beyond the two countries that signed the agreement; it permeates a network of alliances like ripples in a pond, which can work to prevent conflicts beyond the two allied countries."
Additionally, the study examined all major military conflicts worldwide from 1965 to 2000, finding that the likelihood of a new war breaking out between two neighboring countries in a given year was between 3% to 4% compared to countries that are three degrees separate (with three or more countries between them), while the percentage doubled for countries four degrees separated.
Cranmer explained, "At four degrees of separation, countries no longer share membership in common communities that represent mutual interests in established alliances."
According to the researchers, this study adds significant evidence to the body of evidence suggesting that human interactions appear to be influenced by three degrees of separation in relationships.
