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Western Bloc
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The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, is an informal, collective term for countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. While the NATO member states, in Western Europe and Northern America, were pivotal to the bloc, it included many other countries, in the broader Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa with histories of anti-Soviet, anti-communist and, in some cases anti-socialist, ideologies and policies. As such, the bloc was opposed to the political systems and foreign policies of communist countries, which were centered on the Soviet Union, other members of the Warsaw Pact, and usually the People's Republic of China. The name "Western Bloc" emerged in response to and as the antithesis of its Communist counterpart, the Eastern Bloc. Throughout the Cold War, the governments and the Western media were more inclined to refer to themselves as the "Free World" or the "First World", whereas the Eastern bloc was often referred to as the "Communist World" or less commonly the "Second World".
1947–1991 Western Bloc associations[edit | edit source]
NATO[edit | edit source]
- Belgium*
- Canada*
- Denmark*
- France*
- FR Germany (1955–1990)
- Greece (from 1952)
- Iceland*
- Italy*
- Luxembourg*
- Netherlands*
- Norway*
- Portugal*
- Spain (from 1982)
- Turkey (from 1952)
- United Kingdom*
- United States*
* Indicates founding member state
Five Eyes[edit | edit source]
ANZUS[edit | edit source]
Anti-Soviet communist or socialist states (until 1989)[edit | edit source]
- China (from 1978)
- Democratic Kampuchea (from 1978)
- CGDK (from 1982)
- Romania[lower-alpha 1] (from 1964)
- Yugoslavia (from 1948)
Compact of Free Association[edit | edit source]
METO, Baghdad Pact, CENTO (until 1979)[edit | edit source]
- Iran (until 1979)
- Iraq (until 1958)
- Pakistan (until 1979)
- Turkey (until 1979)
- United Kingdom (until 1979)
Rio Treaty[edit | edit source]
- Argentina
- Bahamas (from 1982)
- Bolivia (until 2005)
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba (1902–1959) (until 1959)
- Dominican Republic (until 1990)
- Ecuador (until 2012)
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua (until 1979)
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Trinidad and Tobago (from 1967)
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela (until 1999, rejoined 2019 by Juan Guaidó)
SEATO[edit | edit source]
- Australia
- Cambodia (until 1956)
- Khmer Republic (1970–1975)
- France
- Laos (until 1975)
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Republic of Vietnam (until 1975)
- Thailand
- United Kingdom
- United States
Middle East/North Africa Region[edit | edit source]
- Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Bahrain
- Egypt (from 1979)
- Iran (until 1979)
- Iraq (until 1990)
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Libya (before 1969, from 2011)
- Morocco
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia (from 1977)
- Sudan (1971-1985, 2019–2021)
- Syrian opposition
- Tunisia
- Turkey (until 2009)
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen (Hadi government)
- North Yemen (1962–1990)
Asia, Southeast Asian, and Oceania Partners[edit | edit source]
- Japan
- South Korea
- Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Australia
- New Zealand
- India
- Pakistan
- Bhutan
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Brunei (from 1984)
- Vietnam (from 1995)
Others[edit | edit source]
- Belarus (1991–1994)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Cyprus
- Ethiopia (before 1974)
- Khmer Republic (1970–1975)
- Kosovo
- Russia (1991–1999)
- South Africa
- West Berlin
- Zaire
Post-1991 Western-aligned associations[edit | edit source]
NATO[edit | edit source]
- Albania (from 2009)
- Belgium*
- Bulgaria (from 2004)
- Canada*
- Croatia (from 2009)
- Czech Republic (from 1999)
- Denmark*
- Estonia (from 2004)
- Finland (from 2023)
- France*
- Germany*
- Greece*
- Hungary (from 1999)
- Iceland*
- Italy*
- Latvia (from 2004)
- Lithuania (from 2004)
- Luxembourg*
- Montenegro (from 2017)
- Netherlands*
- North Macedonia (from 2020)
- Norway*
- Poland (from 1999)
- Portugal*
- Romania (from 2004)
- Slovakia (from 2004)
- Slovenia (from 2004)
- Spain*
- Turkey*
- United Kingdom*
- United States*
* Indicates pre-1991 member state
Major non-NATO ally (MNNA)[edit | edit source]
- Australia (from 1987)
- Egypt (from 1987)
- Israel (from 1987)
- Japan (from 1987)
- South Korea (from 1987)
- Jordan (from 1996)
- New Zealand (from 1997)
- Argentina (from 1998)
- Bahrain (from 2002)
- Philippines (from 2003)
- Thailand (from 2003)
- Republic of China (Taiwan) (de facto) (from 2003)
- Kuwait (from 2004)
- Morocco (from 2004)
- Pakistan (from 2004)
- IR Afghanistan (2012–2021)
- Tunisia (from 2015)
- Brazil (from 2019)
- Colombia (from 2022)
- Qatar (from 2022)
Middle Eastern Partners[edit | edit source]
Asia, South East Asian, and Oceania Partners[edit | edit source]
Inter-American Partners[edit | edit source]
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue[edit | edit source]
Others[edit | edit source]
- Armenia (from 2018)
- Austria
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Cyprus
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Ireland
- Ivory Coast
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Moldova
- Sweden
- South Africa
- Uganda
- Ukraine (from 2014)
- Tanzania
See also[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Matloff, Maurice. Makers of Modern Strategy. Ed. Peter Paret. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1971. 702.
- Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. 447,454.
- Lewkowicz, Nicolas. The United States, the Soviet Union and the Geopolitical Implications of the Origins of the Cold War New York and London: Anthem Press, 2018.