View source for Non-aggression pact

{{short description|Type of international treaty}}
{{For|the band|Non-Aggression Pact (band)}}
{{distinguish|non-aggression principle}}

A '''non-aggression pact''' or '''neutrality pact''' is a [[treaty]] between two or more states/countries that includes a promise by the signatories not to engage in [[offensive (military)|military action]] against each other.<ref name="KrauseSinger2001">{{Cite book|last1=Krause|first1=Volker|last2=Singer|first2=J. David|title=Small States and Alliances |chapter=Minor Powers, Alliances, and Armed Conflict: Some Preliminary Patterns |date=2001|editor-last=Reiter|editor-first=Erich|editor2-last=Gärtner|editor2-first=Heinz|chapter-url=http://www.bundesheer.at/pdf_pool/publikationen/05_small_states_03.pdf|language=en|location=Bundesheer|publisher=Physica-Verlag HD|pages=15–23|doi=10.1007/978-3-662-13000-1_3|isbn=978-3-662-13000-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lanoszka |first=Alexander |date=2025 |title=Non-aggression pacts: context and explanation |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-theory/article/nonaggression-pacts-context-and-explanation/03446BF204A0104F8D07B8210C8F9706 |journal=International Theory |language=en |doi=10.1017/S1752971925000065 |issn=1752-9719|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref> Such treaties may be described by other names, such as a [[Treaty of Friendship (disambiguation)|treaty of friendship]]<!--intentional link to DAB page--> or [[non-belligerent|non-belligerency]], etc. Leeds, Ritter, Mitchell, & Long (2002) distinguish between a '''non-aggression pact''' and a '''neutrality pact'''.<ref name="Leeds_2002">{{Cite journal|last1=Leeds|first1=Brett|last2=Ritter|first2=Jeffrey|last3=Mitchell|first3=Sara|last4=Long|first4=Andrew|date=2002-07-01|title=Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions, 1815-1944|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03050620213653|journal=International Interactions|volume=28|issue=3|pages=237–260|doi=10.1080/03050620213653| s2cid=154842700 |issn=0305-0629|url-access=subscription}}</ref> They posit that a ''non-aggression pact'' includes the promise not to attack the other pact signatories, whereas a ''neutrality pact'' includes a promise to avoid support of any [[entity]] that acts against the interests of any of the pact signatories. The most readily recognized example of the  aforementioned entity is another country, nation-state, or sovereign organization that represents a negative consequence towards the advantages held by one or more of the signatory parties.<ref name="Leeds_2002"/>

== History ==
In the 19th century neutrality pacts have historically been used to give permission for one signatory of the pact to attack or attempt to negatively influence an entity not protected by the neutrality pact. The participants of the neutrality pact agree not to attempt to counteract an act of aggression waged by a pact signatory towards an entity not protected under the terms of the pact. Possible motivations for such acts by one or more of the pacts' signatories include a desire to take, or expand, control of economic resources, militarily important locations, etc.<ref name="Leeds_2002"/>

The 1939 [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] between the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Nazi Germany]] is perhaps the best-known example of a non-aggression pact. The Pact lasted until the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union in [[Operation Barbarossa]].<ref name="KrauseSinger2001"/> However, such pacts may be a device for [[neutral country|neutralising]] a potential military threat, enabling at least one of the signatories to free up its military resources for other purposes. For example, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact freed German resources from the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian front]]. On the other hand, the [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]], signed on April 13, 1941, removed the threat from Japan in the east enabling the Soviets to move large forces from Siberia to the fight against the Germans, which had a direct bearing on the [[Battle of Moscow]].

The Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions (ATOP) dataset records 185 agreements that are solely non-aggression pacts between 1815 and 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Leeds|first=Brett Ashley|title=Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions (ATOP) Codebook Version 5.0|url=http://www.atopdata.org/data.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=ATOP Project|publisher=Department of Political Science, Rice University|language=en}}</ref> According to this data, 29 such pacts were recorded in the [[interwar period]] with spikes in occurrences in 1960, 1970, 1979, and especially the early 1990s where a number of [[Eastern Europe]]an states signed pacts following the [[fall of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="Lupu2016">{{Cite journal|last1=Lupu|first1=Yonatan|last2=Poast|first2=Paul|date=2016-05-01|title=Team of former rivals: A multilateral theory of non-aggression pacts|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343316630782|journal=Journal of Peace Research|language=en|volume=53|issue=3|pages=344–358|doi=10.1177/0022343316630782| s2cid=147877066 |issn=0022-3433|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

States with a history of rivalry tend to sign non-aggression pacts in order to prevent future conflict with one another. The pacts often facilitate information exchange which reduce uncertainty that might lead to conflict. Additionally, the pact signals to third party nations that the rivalry has reduced and that peaceful relations is desired.<ref name="Lupu2016" /> It has been found that [[major power]]s are more likely to start military conflicts against their partners in non-aggression pacts than against states that do not have any sort of alliance with them.<ref name="KrauseSinger2001"/>

==List of non-aggression pacts==
[[File:Hitler Stalin Pakt Geheimes Zusatzprotokoll.jpg|thumb|The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (German copy)]]<!-- Listed by date. Signatories listed alphabetically. -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+ List of non-aggression pacts
! Signatories !! Treaty !! Date signed
|-
|[[Delian League]] 
{{Flag|Achaemenid Empire}}
|[[Peace of Callias]]
|c. 449 BCE
|-
|{{Flag|Byzantine Empire}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Venice}}
|[[Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1268|Byzantine–Venetian Treaty of 1268]]
|April 4, 1268
|-
|{{Flag|Byzantine Empire}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Venice}}
|[[Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277|Byzantine–Venetian Treaty of 1277]]
|March 19, 1277
|-
|{{Flag|Byzantine Empire}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Venice}}
|[[Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1285|Byzantine–Venetian Treaty of 1285]]
|June 15, 1285
|-
|{{Flag|Byzantine Empire}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Venice}}
|[[Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1390|Byzantine–Venetian Treaty of 1390]]
|June 2, 1390
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of England}} <br />{{Flag|Kingdom of France|valois}} <br />{{Flag|Holy Roman Empire}} <br />{{Flag|Papal States|old}} <br />{{Flag|Habsburg Spain|1506}}|| [[Treaty of London (1518)|Treaty of London]]|| October 3, 1518
|-
| {{Flag|Republic of Lithuania|1918}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact]]|| September 28, 1926
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Romania|1866}} <br />{{Flag|Second Hellenic Republic|old}}|| [[Greek–Romanian Non-Aggression and Arbitration Pact]]|| March 21, 1928<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 108, pp. 188-199.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Afghanistan|1930}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Soviet–Afghan Non-Aggression Pact]]|| June 24, 1931<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 157, pp. 372.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Republic of Finland}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Soviet–Finnish Non-Aggression Pact]]|| January 21, 1932
|-
| {{Flag|Republic of Latvia}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Soviet–Latvian Non-Aggression Pact]]|| February 5, 1932<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 148, pp. 114-127.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Republic of Estonia}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Soviet–Estonian Non-Aggression Pact]]|| May 4, 1932<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 131, pp. 298-307.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Second Polish Republic|1928}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact]]|| July 25, 1932<ref>{{cite book|author=Andrew Wheatcroft, Richard Overy|title=The Road to War: The Origins of World War II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8t4Xi2Ljt4C&q=%22were+signed%22|year=2009|publisher=Vintage Publishers|page=7|isbn=9781448112395}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|French Third Republic}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Soviet–French Non–Aggression Pact|Soviet–French Non-Aggression Pact]]|| November 29, 1932
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Italy|1861}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Italo-Soviet Pact]]|| September 2, 1933<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 148, pp. 320-329.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Romania|1866}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Turkey}}|| [[Romanian–Turkish Non-Aggression Pact]]|| October 17, 1933<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 165, p. 274.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}}<br />{{Flag|Republic of Turkey}}|| [[Turkish–Yugoslav Non-Aggression Pact]]|| November 27, 1933<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 161, p. 230.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Nazi Germany|1933}} <br />{{Flag|Second Polish Republic|1928}}|| [[German–Polish declaration of non-aggression|German–Polish Declaration of Non-Aggression]]|| January 26, 1934<ref>{{cite book|author=R. J. Crampton|title=Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – And After|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOPfM-0hz1AC&q=%22german+british+non+aggression%22&pg=PA246|year=1997|publisher=Routledge Publishers|page=105|isbn=9780971054196}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|French Third Republic}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1924}} || [[Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance]]|| May 2, 1935
|-
| {{Flag|Empire of Japan|1870}} <br />{{Flag|Nazi Germany|1935}}|| [[Anti-Comintern Pact]]|| November 25, 1936
|-
| {{Flag|Republic of China}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1936}} || [[Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact]]|| August 21, 1937<ref>League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 181, pp. 102-105.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Imperial State of Iran|1933}} <br />{{Flag|Kingdom of Afghanistan|1930}}  <br />{{Flag|Kingdom of Iraq|1932}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Turkey}}|| [[Treaty of Saadabad]]|| June 25, 1938
|-
| {{Flag|First Czechoslovak Republic}} <br />{{Flag|Kingdom of Hungary|1920}} <br />{{Flag|Kingdom of Romania|1866}} <br />{{Flag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}} || [[Bled agreement (1938)|Hungarian–Little Entente agreement]]|| August 22, 1938
|-
| {{Flag|French Third Republic}} <br />{{Flag|Nazi Germany|1935}}|| [[Franco-German Non-Aggression Pact]] || December 6, 1938<ref>{{cite book|author=Douglas M. Gibler|title=International Military Alliances, 1648-2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y3-iCQAAQBAJ&q=french-german+non-aggression+pact+8+decembre+1938&pg=RA1-PA203|year=2008|publisher=CQ Press|page=203|isbn=978-1604266849}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/fyb/part_2.html|title=The Franco-German Declaration of December 6th, 1938|access-date=11 June 2020}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Estado Novo (Portugal)}} <br />{{Flag|Spanish State|1938}}
|[[Iberian Pact]]
|March 17, 1939
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Denmark}} <br />{{Flag|Nazi Germany|1935}}|| {{ill|German–Danish Non-Aggression Pact|de|Deutsch-dänischer Nichtangriffspakt}} || May 31, 1939<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 197, p. 38.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Nazi Germany|1935}}<br />{{Flag|Republic of Estonia}}|| [[German–Estonian Non-Aggression Pact]]|| June 7, 1939<ref name="R. J. Crampton 1997 105">{{cite book|author=R. J. Crampton|title=Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – And After|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHKGAgAAQBAJ&q=%22signed+in+June+1939%22&pg=PA105|year=1997|publisher=Routledge Publishers|page=105|isbn=9781134712212}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Nazi Germany|1935}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Latvia}}|| [[German–Latvian Non-Aggression Pact]]|| June 7, 1939<ref name="R. J. Crampton 1997 105" />
|-
| {{Flag|Nazi Germany|1935}} <br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1936}} || [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]]|| 23 August 1939
|-
| {{Flag|Thailand}} <br />{{Flag|United Kingdom}} || [[British–Thai Non-Aggression Pact]]|| June 12, 1940<ref>Text in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 203, p. 422.</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|French Third Republic}} <br />{{Flag|Thailand}} || [[Franco-Thai Non-Aggression Pact]]|| June 12, 1940
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Hungary|1920}} <br />{{Flag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}} || [[Hungarian–Yugoslav Non-Aggression Pact]] || December 12, 1940
|-
| {{Flag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}}<br />{{Flag|Soviet Union|1936}} || {{ill|Soviet–Yugoslav Non-Aggression Pact|ru|Договор о дружбе и ненападении между СССР и Королевством Югославия}} || April 6, 1941
|-
| {{Flag|Empire of Japan|1870}} <br /> {{Flag|Soviet Union|1936}} || [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]] || April 13, 1941
|-
| {{Flag|Nazi Germany|1935}} <br />{{Flag|Republic of Turkey}} || [[German–Turkish Treaty of Friendship]] || June 18, 1941
|-
|{{Flag|People's Republic of Angola}} <br />{{Flag|Zaire}} <br />{{Flag|Zambia|1964}}
|[[Non-aggression pact of 1979|Non-Aggression Pact of 1979]]
|October 14, 1979
|-
| {{Flag|Republic of South Africa|1982}} <br />{{Flag|People's Republic of Mozambique}} || [[Nkomati Accord]] || March 13, 1984
|}

== Other usage ==
The term has colloquial usage outside the field of [[international relations]]. In the context of [[association football]], the term can imply a deliberate lack of aggression between two teams, such as at the [[Disgrace of Gijón]], which, in Germany, is known as the ''Nichtangriffspakt von Gijón'' (lit. "Non-aggression pact of Gijón").<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-20|title=World Cup stunning moments: West Germany 1-0 Austria in 1982 {{!}} Rob Smyth|url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/feb/25/world-cup-25-stunning-moments-no3-germany-austria-1982-rob-smyth|access-date=2021-06-26|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> A non-aggression pact can also be a formal agreement or [[gentlemen's agreement]] limiting transfers for players between two or more clubs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=9SportPro|date=2017-07-09|title=How the Madrid clubs broke their pact for youngster Theo Hernandez|url=https://www.9sportpro.com/13140/|access-date=2021-06-26|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sergio Ramos and Lucas Vazquez renewals at a standstill{{!}} All Football|url=https://m.allfootballapp.com/news/La-Liga/Sergio-Ramos-and-Lucas-Vazquez-renewals-at-a-standstill/2540849|access-date=2021-06-26|website=AllfootballOfficial|language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Treaty of Friendship]]
*[[List of treaties]]
*[[Military alliance]]
*[[Peace treaty]]

== References ==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Aggression Pact}}
[[Category:Non-aggression pacts| ]]