Alliances between nations are more often a matter of economics than of shared ideologies.

Alliances between nations are more often a matter of economics than of shared ideologies.

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Since the beginnings of human civilization there have been times of important cultural diffusion such as the Silk Road. In today’s world, cultural diffusion has taken the shape of globalization where nations tend to imitate and align with nations of economic prosperity to further and secure their own financial future. However, it is also common for countries to align with others in terms of ideology. There are certain situations in which alliances between nations are of economic nature as well as ideology.

First consider a situation in which an alliance between two nations is a result of economic relations. The United States has been fighting off the threat of Communism from the 1950s during the “Red Scare” and has been in constant competition with the Soviet Union to be on top. The US waged a Cold War with USSR to try to prove that democratic society is far more superior than Communism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, the United States viewed democracy as the supreme form of government. However, this ideology did not last for long when the cost of material for manufacturing sky rocketed. Due to this rise in cost, many companies sought ways to reduce their production costs by finding cheaper labor. Hence by the 1990s, the western world, especially the United States & Canada have maintained strong economic ties with China. Despite China’s communist government and different ideologies from the west, the US and Canada still maintain mutual goals of economic strength and stability. This has resulted in a major trade relationship where many US based multinational corporations have thrived with their business. As a result, it is evident that even though China, US and Canada have contrasting ideologies, economic ties have created an alliance.

On the other hand, there are situations where alliances between two nations are not a result of economic relations but rather based on shared ideology. In the post 9-11 era, the United States has been very vigilant and meticulous in maintaining security to prevent the magnitude of previous terrorist attacks. As a result, the US has attempted to reach out to other countries for support in their cause to fight and weed out terrorism from society. Although many countries hesitated to join the United States, Great Britain was the very first ally in this effort. Since World War II the US and Britain have been allies because of shared ideology of humanity for all, maintain high standard of living and most importantly protect the freedoms of all citizens. However, soon other countries such as Israel and Spain deployed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan because they had experienced terrorists attacks shortly thereafter. Due to the similar atrocities in Madrid and Tel Aviv, support was imminent. More emphasis and support was given by the US to Israel because there have been multiple terrorist attacks by Palestinian militants. Due to the vulnerabilities and shared ideologies in fighting terrorism Britain, Israel and Spain have deployed troops in support of the US to fight terrorism. This is an example where alliances have been formed with shared ideologies.

In all, it is circumstantial as to when alliances between two nations will form via economics or ideology. Alliance through ideology occurs when a common enemy or threat is present between nations and an effort is put forth to prevent harm to citizens. However, despite differences in political ideology between Communist China and the West, alliances occur via economics because investors from the west go to Communist China for the investment potential and profit.