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Political situation in Europe during the Cold War

The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, is an informal, collective term for 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".

1947–1991 Western Bloc associations

NATO

Belgium*
Canada*
Denmark*
France*
West Germany (1955–1990)
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

ANZUS

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^[a] (from 1964)
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (from 1948)
Somali Democratic Republic (from 1977)

Compact of Free Association

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

SEATO (until 1977)

Australia
Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970) (until 1956)
- 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
Egypt (from 1974)
Pahlavi Iran (until 1979)
Ba'athist Iraq (until 1990)
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Kingdom of Libya (before 1969)
Mauritania (1984-1991)
Morocco
Oman
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Sudan (1971-1985)
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

Sub-Saharan Africa

Others

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

Inter-American Partners

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

Notes

^ 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.