Western Bloc

The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of 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".

The "Three Worlds" of the Cold War (between 30 April and 24 June 1975)

  First World: Countries aligned with the Western Bloc (i.e., NATO and allies), led by the United States

  Second World: Countries aligned with the Eastern Bloc (i.e., Warsaw Pact, China, and allies), led by the Soviet Union

  Third World: The Non-Aligned Movement, led by India and Yugoslavia, and other neutral countries

Political situation in Europe during the Cold War

1947–1991 Western Bloc associations

NATO

•  Belgium*
•  Canada*
•  Denmark*
•  France*
•  West Germany (from 1955)
•  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

•  Australia
•  Canada
•  New Zealand
•  United Kingdom
•  United States

ANZUS

•  Australia
•  New Zealand
•  United States

Anti-Soviet communist or socialist states (until 1989)

• China (from 1961)
•  Democratic Kampuchea (from 1978)
  •  Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (from 1982)
•  Socialist Republic of Romania (from 1964)
•  Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (from 1948)
• Somali Democratic Republic (from 1977)

Compact of Free Association

•  Marshall Islands
•  Federated States of Micronesia
•  Palau
•  United States

METO, Baghdad Pact, CENTO (until 1979)

•  Pahlavi Iran (until 1979)
•  Kingdom of Iraq (until 1958)
•  Pakistan (until 1979)
•  Turkey (until 1979)
•  United Kingdom (until 1979)

Rio Treaty/Latin America

•  Argentina
•  Bahamas (from 1982)
•  Bolivia
•  Brazil
•  Chile
•  Colombia
•  Costa Rica
•  Republic of Cuba (until 1959)
•  Dominican Republic (until 1990)
•  Ecuador
•  El Salvador
•  Guatemala
•  Honduras
•  Mexico
• Nicaragua (until 1979)
•  Panama
•  Paraguay
•  Peru
•  Trinidad and Tobago (from 1967)
•  United States
•  Uruguay
•  Venezuela

SEATO (until 1977)

Map of SEATO members in 1959, shown in blue

•  Australia
• Kingdom of Cambodia (until 1970)
  •  Khmer Republic (1970–1975)
•  France
•  Kingdom of Laos (until 1975)
•  New Zealand
•  Pakistan
•  Philippines
•  South Vietnam (until 1975)
•  Thailand
•  United Kingdom
•  United States

Middle East/North Africa Region

•  Bahrain
•  Kingdom of Egypt (until 1952)
  •  Egypt (from 1974)
•  Pahlavi Iran (until 1979)
•  Kingdom of Iraq (until 1958)
  •  Ba'athist Iraq (1980-1990)
•  Israel
•  Jordan
•  Kuwait
•  Lebanon
•  Kingdom of Libya (until 1969)
•  Mauritania (1984-1991)
•  Morocco
•  Oman
•  Palestine
•  Qatar
•  Saudi Arabia
• Republic of Sudan (1956-1969)
  • Sudan (1971-1989)
• Syria (1946-1958) (1961-1963)
•  Tunisia
•  United Arab Emirates
•  Yemen Arab Republic (1972–1990)
  • Kingdom of Yemen (1948-1970)

Asia, Southeast Asian, and Oceania Partners

•  Japan
•  South Korea
•  Taiwan
•  Australia
•  New Zealand
•  Pakistan
•  Bhutan
•  Indonesia
•  Philippines
•  South Vietnam (until 1975)
•  Thailand
•  Malaysia
•  Singapore
•  Brunei (from 1984)
•  Cameroon
•  Chad (1960–1979) (1982–1990)
•  Gabon
•  Ethiopian Empire (until 1974)
•  Ivory Coast
•  Kenya
•  Liberia
•  Rwanda
•  Malawi
•  Senegal
•  Sierra Leone
•  Somalia (from 1977)
• South Africa
•  Togo
•  Uganda
•  Zaire

Others

•  Cyprus
•  West Berlin
•  Ireland
•   Switzerland

Post-1991 Western-aligned associations

NATO

•  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*
•  Sweden (from 2024)
•  Turkey*
•  United Kingdom*
•  United States*

* Indicates pre-1991 member state

Major non-NATO ally (MNNA)

•  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)
•  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2012–2021)
•  Tunisia (from 2015)
•  Brazil (from 2019)
•  Colombia (from 2022)
•  Qatar (from 2022)
•  Kenya (from 2024)

Middle Eastern Partners

•  Bahrain
•  Egypt
•  Iraq (from 2004)
•  Israel
•  Jordan
•  Kuwait
•  Libya (from 2011)
•  Morocco
•  Oman
•  Palestine
•  Qatar
•  Saudi Arabia
•  Sudan (2019–2021)
•  Tunisia
•  United Arab Emirates
•  Yemen (Hadi government)

Asia-Pacific and Oceania Partners

•  Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2001–2021)
•  Australia
•  Bhutan
•  Brunei
•  Cambodia
•  India
•  Indonesia
•  Japan
•  South Korea
•  Malaysia
•  Mongolia
•  New Zealand
•  Pakistan
•  Philippines
•  Republic of China (Taiwan) (de facto)
•  Singapore
•  Thailand
•  Vietnam

Inter-American Partners

•  Argentina
•  Bolivia (until 2005)
•  Brazil
•  Chile
•  Colombia
•  Costa Rica
•  Dominican Republic
•  Ecuador
•  El Salvador
•  Guatemala
•  Honduras
•  Mexico
•  Panama
•  Paraguay
•  Peru
•  Uruguay
•  Venezuela (until 1999)

Pacific Squad and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

•  Australia
•  Canada
•  India
•  Japan
•  South Korea
•  United States

Others

•  Armenia (since 2023)
•  Azerbaijan
•  Austria
•  Andorra
•  Bahamas
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina
•  Cyprus
•  Georgia
•  Ireland
•  Kosovo
•  Liechtenstein
•  Malta
•  Moldova
•  Monaco
•  Ukraine (since 2014)
•  San Marino
•   Switzerland

See also

• List of Western Bloc defectors
  • Martin and Mitchell defection
  • List of American and British defectors in the Korean War
• Allies of World War II
• Axis powers
• Eastern Bloc
• Free World
• First World
• G7
• Second World
• Third World
• Operation Condor
• Partnership for Peace
• Western betrayal
• Western European and Others Group
• Western world

Notes

1. See De-satellization of the Socialist Republic of Romania

Sources

• 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.