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Non-aggression Pact Overview

Non-aggression Pact Overview

A non-aggression pact is a
common form of pact which normally is put into place between two different
sovereign states in order to prevent either one from exhibiting any kind of
aggressive behavior towards the other. A non-aggression pact thus might be
known as a peace pact because it would involve the preservation of peace
between the two involved parties. 

Furthermore, a non-aggression pact would
often include a clause which dictates that the two involved parties agree to
solve any problems and disputes they might have with one another through
peaceful diplomacy. It might further outline exactly the way in which to
proceed with doing so, thus making them even more in line with the notion of a
peace pact.

A non-aggression pact is
importantly differentiated from an outright peace pact, however, in that the
parties of a non-aggression pact are agreeing only not to engage each other in
aggressive behavior and are not agreeing to be entirely peaceful. This means
that the parties involved in a non-aggression pact might even theoretically
attack each other’s allies. The non-aggression pact would mean that they were
still not at war with each other. This is an important point to recognize in
terms of differentiating a non-aggression pact from an out and out peace pact.

Non-aggression pacts are not
often used in the modern world, primarily because they are not necessarily as
binding as the participating countries might have hoped, as was evidenced by
Nazi Germany’s violation of its non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. More
often now, security partnerships are used in which the member states agree to
defend each other for the sake of greater overall security.