Should the United States prioritize loyalty-based alliances over traditional treaty partnerships?

Context

The debate over loyalty-based versus treaty-based alliances reflects a fundamental tension in U.S. foreign policy: whether America should prioritize personal relationships and shared interests with individual nations, or maintain formal multilateral commitments like NATO and trade agreements that bind diverse partners together. This question has intensified as the U.S. reassesses its role in Europe and Asia, weighing the costs of traditional alliance structures against the flexibility of ad-hoc partnerships. The stakes are high—alliance choices shape military deployments, trade flows, and global stability for decades.