Friends to Friends, Enemies to Enemies

The Anglo-Portuguese alliance is the oldest of its kind. Concluded in June 1373, it has survived world wars, the rise and fall of empires and globalisation. How?

The Battle of Nájera, fought by King Peter against Henry Trastámara, 3 April 1367, from a 15th-century manuscript of Jean Froissart’s Chronicles.
The Battle of Nájera, fought by King Peter against Henry Trastámara, 3 April 1367, from a 15th-century manuscript of Jean Froissart’s Chronicles. Bridgeman Images.

 

The allure of the alliance shows no sign of abating. In recent years we have NATO’s collective support for Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion, the ‘no limits’ strategic partnership between Russia and China, and Aukus, the trilateral security pact recently defined as an ‘alliance at sea’ between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Alliances are a common way of achieving peaceful relations, as well as a means of creating deterrence. But what makes them last, and for how long?

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