A secret treaty is a treaty (international agreement) in which the contracting state parties have agreed to conceal the treaty's existence or substance from other states and the public.[1] Such a commitment to keep the agreement secret may be contained in the instrument itself or in a separate agreement.[1]
According to one compilation of secret treaties published in 2004, there have been 593 secret treaties negotiated by 110 countries and independent political entities since the year 1521.[2] Secret treaties were highly important in the balance of power diplomacy of 18th and 19th century Europe, but are rare today.[3]
Secret treaties have been prevalent in authoritarian states where rulers use the treaties to suppress domestic opposition and unrest.[4]
- ^ a b Helmut Tichy and Philip Bittner, "Article 80" in Olivier Dörr & Kirsten Schmalenbach (eds.) Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: a Commentary (Springer, 2012)), 1339, at 1341, note 11.
- ^ Chad M. Kahl, International Relations, International Security, and Comparative Politics: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources (Greenwood, 2008), pp. 206-07.
- ^ Lipson, pp. 237-28.
- ^ Koremenos, Barbara; Carlson, Melissa (2024), Abbott, Kenneth W.; Biersteker, Thomas J. (eds.), "Why Do States Cooperate Informally?: Comparing Secret Agreements in Europe and the Middle East", Informal Governance in World Politics, Cambridge University Press, pp. 130–158, doi:10.1017/9781009180528.009, ISBN 978-1-009-18054-2