Final answer:
The Dual Alliance may have been negative in the long term because it escalated conflicts, caused power imbalances, and intensified societal and economic inequalities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Dual Alliance was potentially negative in the long term for several reasons, highlighted through historical examples. Firstly, alliances often led to escalated conflicts by drawing connected countries into wars that could have been localized. For instance, just as in WWI, where alliances transformed a regional conflict into a world war, long-term historical alliances similarly had the potential to escalate disputes beyond their original scope. Secondly, within an alliance, there can be an imbalance of power, as seen with the warrior factions in Zhou states, leading to internal conflicts and power struggles. Lastly, alliances can foster societal and economic inequalities, intensifying internal class conflicts, such as those between elites who benefited from wars and lower classes who bore the majority of the sacrifices and as seen in societal disruptions in ancient Rome due to military campaigns.