A return to the system of Grand Alliances?

**Kevin Brown** · 06 Apr 09,, 20:03

I'm curious,

Does anyone else on here harbor the belief that the world is heading back to a Pre-First World War I system of loosely based International Alliances?

For example- Are we seeing another Triple Entente form and are we seeing another Triple Alliance forming although both of these are loosely based?

Any comments on this?

**Johnny W** · 07 Apr 09,, 03:24

I see NATO, and I see a US alliance with South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines in the pacific.

I don't see any couteralliance anywhere on the horizon. China will sell weapons to Iran and other hostile nations, but I can't see an alliance between them. Russia dominates a few of the old soviet republics.

What potential alliances do you see?

**Kevin Brown** · 07 Apr 09,, 04:16

Originally Posted by Johnny W

I see NATO, and I see a US alliance with South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines in the pacific.

I don't see any couteralliance anywhere on the horizon. China will sell weapons to Iran and other hostile nations, but I can't see an alliance between them. Russia dominates a few of the old soviet republics.

What potential alliances do you see?

I personally see a loosely liinked alliance of the US and EU along with a strong partnership with India and links with third/second world partner states(Entente)

In addition to another loosely linked alliance of Russia, China and third/second world partner states(Alliance)

Possible third alliance of non-state actors; i.e groups like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other Islamist organizations. In addtion to other terrorist groups, some drug lords and third world organized crime groups

All of thse will be linked together one or another through common interests like in the case of the Entente political similarites like most of the states involved being democratic and mostly free market as well as common oppenents and geopolitcal interests. In the case of the Alliance linked through the interest of reclaiming real or imgained lost territory, economic interests, as well as similar authoritarian/autocratic politcal systems.

The Third bloc may or may not be linked by common religious and idological interests as well as other goals. Rather just a bunch of interests out competing and fighting amongest each other

**~~pate~~** · 14 Apr 09,, 08:33

Perhaps, the US of A seems to be apologetic at best to the rest of the world, mostly to the nations of NATO, "why heck, we seem to have mussed things up, got a bit over our heads, y'know" ...

That oldtimey whatever, the 'what I didn't know, I thought we'd turned the clock back to the twenties, when Granpappy Rosie was in charge' sort of attitude.

Prob'ly wrong forum for this, but I wonder what he's after here. Were the folks of the 1920's so ignorant of what was going on in the world prior to their great depression (pirate activity etc?) that they elected a fool who only needed a world war to pull his vision of the country out of the fire (read to set him straight after it was too late) have we recoverd from his vision or has the new messiah only just now showed up to show us the way out? I don't know, but if it took the country this long to reject that Rooseveltian vision, and now weakened as it is we have another, with the Kennedy vision is it useful to complain, or should we just say, "Hey, Fiat accompli..."

**EBStenowski** · 25 Apr 09,, 20:27

I think Kevin Brown is right about the non-state actors forming some sort of an alliance (though I prefer 'coalition'). We've already seen the co-operation in between militant Islamist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Though part Sunni and part Shi'ite, this coalition seems united in its hatred of the West and Western values. I think it is potentially aligned against Europe, the United States, Israel and India alike, and perhaps against moderate Muslim nations in the Middle East.

Another coalition I see coming is the "outsider bunch" in the international system. Comprised of such actors as Russia, Chavez' Venezuela, Bolivia, Iran, and possibly Cuba and North Korea, it appears to be somewhat of a leftover from the Cold War: they are all socialist/neo-Marxist, have all firmly rejected Western-style capitalism and liberal democracy, have nationalized (or are in the process of doing so) most of their industry, have rather grandiose military budgets, etc. Some are also, it seems, and rather worryingly, in the pursuit of obtaining nuclear weapons.

Do these two coalitions/alliances represent a real danger - or will they keep being confined to act merely as a theoretical threat? What do you think?