Unholy alliance (geopolitical)

An unholy alliance popularly refers to an alliance which is perceived as unnatural, unusual, or simply undesirable, sometimes between seemingly antagonistic parties.

Original use

In 1855, the term "Unholy Alliance" was used for Western European alliances with the Ottoman Empire against the interests of Russia, Greece, and most of the Balkans.[1] It was an ironic reference to the original Holy Alliance created after the Napoleonic War in 1815 by Tsar Alexander I of Russia.[2]

Later use

In 1912, US politician Theodore Roosevelt campaigned against the "invisible government", "the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics".[3]

In the context of World War II, the term has been used for the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that partitioned Poland.[4]

The term was also used by the short-lived Republic of Biafra to refer to Nigeria and its allies the UK and the Soviet Union.[5]

The term came to be used by African nationalists when describing the predominantly white governments of Southern Africa from 1961 to 1980: South Africa, Rhodesia, and the Portuguese Empire.[6][7][8] For example, during the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Fourteenth Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 27 February to 6 March 1970, stated they were "Deeply concerned at the strengthening of the unholy alliance among the racist regimes of Pretoria, Salisbury, Lisbon and their collaboration with other imperialist powers".[9] In its resolution 3151 G (XXVIII) of 14 December 1973, the UN General Assembly condemned what it termed an unholy alliance between South African apartheid and zionism.[10]

See also

References
  1. William Giles Dix, The Unholy Alliance: An American View of the War in the East, New York: Charles B. Norton, 1855.
  2. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Holy Alliance". www.newadvent.org.
  3. Theodore Roosevelt (August 1912). "Progressive covenant with the people". The Library of Congress. Thomas Edison. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
  4. Geoffrey K. Roberts, The Unholy Alliance: Stalin's Pact with Hitler. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1989. Gerald Freund. Unholy Alliance: Russian-German Relations from the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to the Treaty of Berlin. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1957.
  5. Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. "27. Intelligence Memorandum, Washington, January 29, 1969". 2001-2009.state.gov.
  6. African National Congress, "Cementing the Unholy Alliance: Statement in the Special Committee Against Apartheid, May 18, 1965". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-17.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. Eliakim M. Sibanda, The Zimbabwe African People's Union, 1961–87, p.128
  8. Tor Sellström, Sweden and National Liberation in Southern Africa, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, p. 420
  9. CM/Res. 209 (XIV) "Resolution on Decolonization and Apartheid". Resolutions and Declarations ..., March 1970. (see document in African Union link below).
  10. Cited in the text of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 (XXX). Resolution "3151 (XXVIII). Policies of apartheid of the Government of South Africa", 14 December 1973: https://undocs.org/A/RES/3151(XXVIII)
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