Examines the role that reputation plays in international politics, emphasizing the importance of reliability - confidence that, based on past political actions, a country will make good on its promises - in the formation of military alliances. Challenging recent scholarship that focuses on the importance of credibility - a state's reputation for following through on its threats - Miller finds that reliable states have much greater freedom in forming alliances that those that invest resources in building military force but then use it inconsistently. -- From the book jacket.

Alliances and reputation in international relations -- Reliability and alliance behavior -- The end of splendid isolation : British pursuit of an ally, 1901-1905 -- The first Moroccan crisis : testing the Anglo-French entente, 1904-1907 -- The Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis : expanding the entente, 1907-1911 -- The Agadir crisis : rolling toward war, 1910-1914 -- Summary and expansion of findings.