As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 79,000 lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.
Try it risk-freeAlready registered? Log in here for access
Jessica has taught junior high history and college seminar courses. She has a master's degree in education.
Throughout time, states have switched alliances. For instance, the American Revolution saw the American colonies fighting against Britain. However, both World Wars saw the US and Britain joining forces to take on Germany, while modern-day times have seen all three of these states stand together against the Eastern Block of the former Soviet Union.
Putting things simply, when it's in their best interest, states will choose to cooperate with one another. Today's lesson will explore this concept of political cooperation, specifically in the form of military and economic alliances.
However, before we get to these alliances, we should probably take a few steps back and define what we mean by a 'state'. A state is an autonomous political unit, including many communities within its territories, over which it has legitimate centralized power. Breaking this definition down, a state is a sovereign entity holding supreme rule over its territory. For this reason, the world's modern nations fall under the broad umbrella of being states. With this in mind, let's get moving on to political cooperation.
Being more of a concept than a term, political cooperation broadly denotes the governments of differing states working together toward a common goal. This cooperation can occur in areas like military alliances, economic affairs, and the deciding of territorial boundaries.
Probably one of the most famous examples of political cooperation is the United Nations. Formed after World War II, the United Nations is an intergovernmental organization tasked with the job of promoting and maintaining political cooperation among the world's nations.
When speaking of political cooperation, it often comes by way of treaties. Again, speaking rather broadly, a treaty is formally approved agreement between two states. One of the world's most famous modern day treaties was the Treaty of Versailles, which signaled the end of World War I. Speaking of war, let's move into the idea of military alliances between states.
Again, being more of a concept than a clear term, military alliances can be loosely described as collaborations between the armed forces of two states. Adding to this, it can also denote agreements between states surrounding the use of sanctioned force. Probably one of the best examples of military alliance occurred during World War II, as countries like the US, Britain, and France stood together fighting side by side against Nazi Germany.
Interestingly, military alliances don't just take place during times of war. Many times, military cooperation exists almost as a promise to come to the aid of another country should the need arise, sort of a 'we've got your back' kind of situation. One of the world's strongest examples of this can be found in US and British relations. Almost sounding like high-schoolers dating, the term for this close alliance is actually termed the special relationship, or the exceptionally close political, military, and economic relations that exists between nations. Historically, this terminology is used in reference to the US and the United Kingdom.
With this, we now come to economic alliances between states. Again, being very general, economic alliances concern collaborations between states in the areas of money, resources, and wealth. Stating it really simply, it's how states cooperate when dealing with their wallets. Since the onset of economic globalization, the financial integration and interdependence of economies across the world, economic alliances have reached new heights.
A great example of an economic alliance is NAFTA, the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, which removed many tariffs between the three countries of Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Jumping across the Atlantic, another example of an economic alliance can be found in the European Union. Often referred to simply as the EU, this is a group of European countries which have agreed to recognize the Euro as an official currency.
A state is an autonomous political unit, including many communities within its territories, over which it has legitimate centralized power. A state is a sovereign entity holding supreme rule over its territory.
Throughout history, many states have chosen to partake in political cooperation, the governments of differing states working together toward a common goal. A great example of this is the United Nations an intergovernmental organization tasked with the job of promoting and maintaining political cooperation among the world's nations.
Political cooperation often takes place via treaties, which are formally approved agreements between two states. It also takes place through military alliances, collaborations between the armed forces of two states or agreements between states surrounding the use of sanctioned force.
Political cooperation also takes the form of economic alliances, collaborations between states in the area of money, resources, and wealth. Economic alliances have boomed since the onset of economic globalization, the financial integration and interdependence of economies across the world.
View this lesson in preparation to:
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Already a member? Log In
BackAlready registered? Log in here for access
Did you know… We have over 200 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Back To Course
Geography 101: Human & Cultural Geography16 chapters | 151 lessons | 11 flashcard sets
{{courseNav.course.topics.length}} chapters | {{courseNav.course.mDynamicIntFields.lessonCount}} lessons | {{course.flashcardSetCount}} flashcard set{{course.flashcardSetCoun > 1 ? 's' : ''}}
Your Cart is Empty. Please Choose a Product.
Watch 5 minute video clips, get step by step explanations, take practice quizzes and tests to master any topic.
Study.com has a library of 550,000 questions and answers for covering your toughest textbook problems
I love the way expert tutors clearly explains the answers to my homework questions. Keep up the good work!
- Maritess, College StudentStudy.com video lessons have helped over 30 million students.
"I learned more in 10 minutes than 1 month of chemistry classes"
- Ashlee P.
"I learned more in 10 minutes than 1 month of chemistry classes"
- Ashlee P.
"I aced the CLEP exam and earned 3 college credits!"
- Clair S.
Over 65 million users have prepared for {{displayNameByProductKey[registrationData.product || testPrepCocoon]}} and other exams on Study.com
"The videos have changed the way I teach! The videos on Study.com accomplish in 5 minutes what would take me an entire class."
- Chris F.
Over 65 million users have prepared for {{displayNameByProductKey[registrationData.product || testPrepCocoon]}} and other exams on Study.com
Over 65 million users have prepared for {{displayNameByProductKey[registrationData.product || testPrepCocoon]}} and other exams on Study.com
