The alliance was not permanent political union but provisional cooperation forming during external threats, dissolving after immediate danger passed, reflecting Baltic political fragmentation that was simultaneously weakness and strength. The tribes maintained fierce independence—each controlling its own territory, each making autonomous decisions, each jealously guarding sovereignty against any authority claiming superior status. But this independence was pragmatic rather than suicidal—when facing overwhelming enemies, the tribes could temporarily subordinate autonomy to collective survival, creating coalitions achieving military objectives beyond individual tribal capabilities, then reverting to independence once cooperation was no longer necessary.
