When any voluntary association of organizations or even individuals comes into effect, we can talk about a coalition. This is one of the most common means of defeating a stronger enemy or another coalition. Any forces and organizations can unite, but military-political alliances are most known in history, of course, from relatively recent (by historical standards) times - economic. Basically, they will be disassembled in this article.
What is a coalition in history?
The first coalitions arose in time immemorial. Probably, when several groups of hunters from different sites joined together to hunt larger game. Since that time, various alliances have arisen constantly, and sometimes it is thanks to their actions that history has made sharp turns. For example, only by uniting did the Hellenic policies manage to defeat the Persian state - the largest and most powerful empire at that time.
However, sometimes participation in the coalition played a negative role. A. Hitler put a lot of effort in the beginning in order to conclude an alliance with B. Mussolini, and then to convince the Italian dictator to enter the war. But in reality, the Italian troops rendered little help, on the contrary, the German troops had to take part in the hostilities in new theaters, to which they were not originally supposed to send. In addition, it was the allied duty to Japan that made A. Hitler declare war on the United States.
How close have they been in coalition history?
In history, there are more or less close coalitions. This implies, first of all, how well coordinated the actions of its members are. For example, in an alliance such as NATO, the Allies are constantly coordinating their efforts. To this end, the NATO Council, the Military Planning Committee and the Secretary General are working within the organization , which, of course, is not the commander in chief of the allied forces, but has broad powers in organizing joint actions.
On the other hand, history also knows many examples of less close cooperation. During the Seven Years' War, France and Prussia constituted one of the two opposing coalitions, but this was probably indicated only by the fact that they did not fight each other and their opponents were united into a coalition. For the rest, they did not coordinate their actions and even fought mainly in different parts of the world: Prussia repelled attacks from different sides in Europe, France in this war is known mainly for actions against British forces (generally unsuccessful) in the colonies and at sea.
Equal coalitions
Most of the most famous states in the history of coalitions included more or less equal members. An example is the anti-Napoleonic coalitions, which were concluded and collapsed one after another at the beginning of the XIX century. Thanks to the equal rights of their members, coalitions formed quickly and voluntarily, but also quickly disintegrated after another defeat, since there was no strong center that could support those who were hesitant in their struggle or even force it to continue.
Also, precisely because of the lack of a single coordinating center, defeating Napoleon in the end, the coalition was not able to take full advantage of the fruits of this victory: at the Vienna Congress, the head of French diplomacy Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord managed to sow distrust between the allies, thanks to which France was able to avoid the most negative from the consequences of her loss threatening her.
Unequal coalitions
But there are cases known in history when a pronounced leader dictated his will to the rest of the coalition. This is, for example, the Athenian Maritime Union. The policies included in the union paid Athens the fee set for each of them, and Athens already equipped with the money received, first of all, the fleet, the creation of which the coalition was aimed at, as well as the land armed forces. Many scholars even consider this alliance a cross between a coalition of policies and the Athenian empire.
Thanks to such an organization, the forces of the union have always acted as a whole. The flip side was the Athenian dictatorship in the union. From time to time, this or that policy tried to get rid of it - the result was Athenian military expeditions and heavy punishments for the rebellious.
Turning a coalition into a single state
Thus, it is clear that history knows close alliances, as well as alliances with a distinct leader. In light of this, it is not surprising that there were cases when a coalition of states turned into a single state, its members lost their independence.
Rome at the beginning of its conquests led a fairly close alliance of Italian policies (like the Athenian Maritime Union). Sometimes part of the members left the coalition, as was the case during the Second Punic War, when many former Roman allies supported Hannibal. But in the end, the coalition became so tight that during the so-called Allied wars, it was the Allies who demanded that the coalition be turned into a single state: there was no longer any hope for the real sovereignty of their policies, and the creation of a single state should vest them with Roman citizenship rights, which were much wider citizenship rights in union policies.
Coalitions of political parties
It is time to recall the definition given at the beginning of the article. A coalition is a union of not only states, but also of any forces and organizations. In the political life of the vast majority of modern democracies, coalitions of parties have become a normal phenomenon in political life.
Parties can fight for power already in the coalition, go to the polls as a united front. For example, the existence of the Union of Right Forces began as an electoral bloc, which only later became a party. On the other hand, parties can form a coalition after the elections to form a majority government, for which purpose, sometimes, unexpected alliances are created. For example, at the beginning of 2015 in Greece, the SYRIZA party, which gained the largest number of votes, was completely left in terms of both the program and the election rhetoric, merged with the center-right Independent Greeks party, which allowed the SYRIZA leader to form a government.
Coalitions of companies
Competition forces companies, both industrial and financial, to form various coalitions. These are cartels, syndicates and trusts known to us from school. There is no need to once again explain the difference between the two. Suffice it to say that various types of coalitions between large companies play a large role in the modern world economy.
Countless examples of successful coalitions of various companies. It is enough to bring one. In 1892, a coalition of Edison Electric Light and Thomson-Houston Electric companies launched General Electric, which today is one of the largest corporations producing various product names in almost all countries of the world.
The advantages and disadvantages of coalitions
Here was presented only a superficial sketch of such a phenomenon in world history as a coalition. What it is and what its role in history is is a topic worthy of a separate monograph. But now it is clear that the coalition can play both a positive and a negative role for the one who enters there. It can bring victory or, on the contrary, force to solve not only its problems, but also the problems of its allies. It can help to stand against a strong enemy, and can deprive of sovereignty.