Rajamandala A
Sanskrit treatise on
statecraft, the
Arthashastra of
Kautilya states: A neighboring power would be the first to dispute control of territory, and therefore Kautilya finds neighboring kings to be natural enemies of any conqueror. A king whose territories border those of the enemy would also have this relationship with them, and therefore be a natural ally. This system of relationships was termed
Rajamandala (meaning
circle of kings) and informed the
foreign policy of
Chandragupta's Empire. This early theory of
geopolitics is still recognized today as the
Mandala theory of foreign relations.
World War II at the
Yalta Conference:
Winston Churchill,
Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Joseph Stalin, 1945 The idea that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" functioned in various guises as foreign policy by the Allies during
World War II. In Europe, tension was common between the
Western Allies and the
Soviet Union. Despite their inherent differences, they recognized a need to work together to meet the threat of
Nazi aggression under the leadership of
Adolf Hitler. Both
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were wary of the
Soviet Union under the leadership of
Joseph Stalin. However, both developed policies with an understanding that Soviet cooperation was necessary for the Allied war effort to succeed. There is a
quote from Winston Churchill made to his personal secretary
John Colville on the eve of Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union (
Operation Barbarossa). He was quoted as saying, "if Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons." Stalin reciprocated these feelings towards his Western allies. He was distrustful and feared that they would negotiate a
separate peace with
Nazi Germany. However, he also viewed their assistance as critical in resisting the Nazi invasion. The doctrine of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" was employed by nation states in regions outside of the European theater as well. In the
Second Sino-Japanese War, within the
Pacific theater, an alliance was formed between
Chinese Communists and
Chinese Nationalists. Leading up to this, these forces had battled each other throughout the
Chinese Civil War. However, they formed an alliance, the
Second United Front in response to the mutual threat of
Japanese aggression. Similarly, the
Malayan Communist Party and the
British Empire agreed a truce for the
Malayan campaign and subsequent
Japanese Occupation.
Cold War The doctrine was also used extensively during the
Cold War between
Western Bloc nations and the Soviet Union. The Soviets and the
Chinese aided
North Korea during the
Korean War as well as
North Vietnam (and
Viet Congs) during the
Vietnam War to oppose American foreign policy goals. Likewise, the United States and its allies supported the
Afghan mujahideen after the
Soviet invasion in the hopes of thwarting the spread of Communism. In the
Third World, both superpowers supported regimes whose values were at odds with the ideals espoused by their governments. These ideals were
capitalism and
liberal democracy in the case of the United States, and the
Marxist–Leninist interpretation of
Communism and
proletarian democracy in the case of the Soviet Union. In order to oppose the spread of Communism, the United States government supported dictatorial regimes, such as
Mobutu Sese Seko in
Zaire,
Suharto in
Indonesia, and
Augusto Pinochet in
Chile. The support provided by the Soviet Union towards nations with overtly anti-Communist governments, such as
Gamal Abdul Nasser in
Egypt, in order to oppose American influence, is another example of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" as policy on an international scale. The Soviets also backed
India to counter both the pro-American
Pakistani government and the People's Republic of China (following the
Sino-Soviet split), despite India having a democratic government. Similarly, China, following the split, lent support to nations and factions that embraced an anti-Soviet, often Maoist form of Communism, but whose governments nonetheless embraced
Sinophobic policies at home, such as the
Khmer Rouge-ruled regime of
Democratic Kampuchea.
Middle East In an example of this doctrine at work in Middle Eastern foreign policy, the United States backed the Iraqi government under
Saddam Hussein during the
Iran–Iraq War, as a strategic response to the anti-American
Iranian Revolution of 1979. A 2001 study of international relations in the Middle East used the proverb as the basis of its main thesis, examining how enmity between adverse nations evolve and alliances develop in response to common threats. ==Balance theory==