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▶ In this video I talk about the "Special Relationship" that exists between some countries. How the concept first emerged with the United States & United Kingdom and how it has, since, been applied to many other nations. Usually connecting world powers with countries in areas they seek to influence - such as China and Albania - but also at times connecting those with a common past (such as old colonizers and old colonies, i.e. Portugal and Brazil), or those with a common identity - such as Albania and Kosovo. There are, however, some odd cases. Like the proximity between Turkey and South Korea, which goes back to a specific historical event that we learn about here.
▶ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 What Are Special Relationships?
01:05: UK & USA - How Special Relationships Started
03:40 Portugal & Brazil (Old Colonizer & Old Colony)
05:26 Albania & China (World Power & Influenced)
06:38 Kosovo & Albania (Common Identity)
06:55 Serbia & Russia (Slavic Proximity)
07:36 India & Israel (Common Interests)
08:25 Turkey & South Korea (Historical Friendship)
09:28 Italy & Vatican City (Geographic Necessity)
10:14 France & Monaco (Mutual Benefit)
10:46 China & North Korea (Geopolitics)
11:42 Summary
▶ A special thank you to my Patrons: Kris Rizakis, Sebastian Karlo, Señor Valasco, Yasin Chaykh, Stuart Tunstead, Chaim laser, Robinhio84, Rogaine Ablar, The Wanton Dogfish, Yeti, Elizabeth Per, Juan Rodriguez Forero, Lastmatix, Kalvin Saccal, Ahmed Alkooheji, Steve the Goat, KR, Ryan Keith, Ryan McMurry, Richard Hartzell.
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0:00
Some countries like each other, some countries don't, and some countries go an extra mile
0:04
having what is known in international relations as a special relationship. Throughout the world, there are 52 pairs of countries with special relationships
0:13
Many are involved in more than one. Some examples are Albania with China or with Kosovo, Brazil and Portugal, Vatican and Italy
0:21
India and Israel, the UK and the US, North Korea and China, or Russia and Serbia
0:26
not to mention strange ones like Turkey and South Korea, which we will learn about further ahead
0:32
Plus, many similar close relationships between countries exist that don't fit into this precise category of foreign policy
0:39
For the special relationships, some have strategic interests at their origin, others cultural proximity, and others historical explanations
0:47
To better understand this topic, we're going to take a look at these examples, learning why these special relationships exist and how they started
1:00
Let's start with the two countries in which this concept was first created and which gave
1:10
the name to this type of close relationship between two countries, the UK and the United
1:14
States. The US and Britain were first enemies due to the Revolutionary War in which the
1:19
13 colonies broke away from British rule. Relations often continued to be strained until
1:25
the mid-19th century and overall the British governments didn't like the American ones
1:29
However, British public opinion sensed a common, special relationship between the two peoples
1:35
based on their shared language, migrations, religion, history in general, their classic
1:41
liberalism and their extensive private trade. Troops from both nations had begun fighting side by side due to sharing common enemies
1:49
like the Spanish. And the first strong bond came a little later, during World War I, when British Prime Minister
1:55
Ramsey MacDonald visited the US in 1930, he confirmed the special relationship by the creation
2:02
of a naval agreement with the US instead of renewing a former Anglo-Japanese alliance
2:08
demonstrating how their ally and priority had shifted in the Pacific. However, the US's
2:13
isolationist period, its abandonment of the League of Nations, the Great Depression, among other
2:18
events, convinced British leaders that the US would not be relied upon. US President Truman's
2:24
Secretary of State, Dean Aikson, even stated, of course a unique relation existed between Britain
2:30
and America, our common language and history ensured that. But unique did not mean affectionate
2:36
we had fought England as an enemy as often as we had fought by her side as an ally. And it took
2:43
another world war, World War II, in which they fought together, both in Europe and in the Pacific
2:48
for the relationship to become consolidated, becoming even more firm in the post-war period
2:54
as the Cold War began and nuclear weapons cooperation was expanded. Between 1939 and 1945
3:01
Churchill and Roosevelt exchanged 1700 letters and telegrams and met 11 times Churchill mother was a US citizen so maybe this contributed to that idea for him He first used the term special relationship in 1944 when he said it was his deepest conviction
3:18
that unless Britain and the United States are joined in a special relationship, another
3:22
destructive war will come to pass. Since then the two countries have been closely linked in military cooperation, intelligence
3:30
sharing economic agreements among others. And this established the concept of special
3:35
relationships in foreign policy which other countries then pursued with their own allies
3:40
Using the same logic of former colony and colonizer, there is a special relationship
3:45
between Brazil and Portugal. Their connection spans over almost five centuries beginning in 1532
3:51
with the establishment of the Portuguese colony of Brazil. Brazil eventually became independent
3:56
by the decision of a Portuguese prince, so there was never really a war for independence
4:00
that pushed them away from each other. Today they continue to be bound by a common language
4:05
and those ancestral lines in Portuguese Brazilians which can be traced back hundreds of years
4:10
Over 10% of Brazilians, at least, have direct Portuguese descendancy, and 30% of the foreign
4:16
population of Portugal as Brazilian, being the highest immigrant group. According to a 2011 BBC
4:22
poll, 76% of Portuguese people view Brazil's influence positively, the most favorable perception
4:28
of Brazil for any country in the world. But before we keep going, a quick message from the sponsor of this video, History Mapped Out
4:36
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5:26
Regarding the ones on the thumbnail, Albania has a close relationship with China
5:30
Their connection starts in the Cold War as Albania, a communist regime at the time
5:35
didn't want to side with either Yugoslavia or with the Soviet Union's sphere of influence
5:40
So they looked to China, the other big communist country establishing relations in 1949 and
5:46
beginning to receive economic assistance from the Chinese in 1954. It was a win-win
5:51
Albania found support outside of Europe, kept itself safe from the USSR by having another
5:56
powerful ally, and China bought influence in Europe. With the Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s, the USSR and China drifted apart, and this
6:05
further solidified China's partnership with Albania, even at their own cost. In 1961 during the Great Chinese Famine China still provided Albania with hundreds of thousands of tons of grain 250 million yuan in foreign exchange aid and 19 completed projects
6:22
Aid has slowed down throughout the years. There was even a temporary Albanian-Chinese split in the 70s because Albania thought China
6:29
was growing too close with the US. Today, Albania is no longer a communist regime, even voting against Chinese interests at the
6:35
UN sometimes, but a somewhat close relationship remains. And Albania and Kosovo of course have one too. This is because they are direct neighbors and the majority of Kosovoors today are of Albanian ethnicity. Both countries and their citizens refer to the relationship as one nation, two states, as highlighted in the popular Pan-Albanian slogan, we are one
6:55
Since we're in the region, let's look at the special relationship between Serbia and Russia
6:59
This one, in addition to the strategic interest of Russia buying influence in the Balkans
7:03
also has to do with their cultural proximity as two Slavic and Christian Orthodox nations
7:08
The countries established official diplomatic relations as the Russian Empire and the Principality
7:13
of Serbia in 1816, wanting to support a local adversary of their own enemy, the Ottoman Empire
7:19
One of the factors that actually led to the beginning of World War I was close bilateral
7:23
relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Russian Empire. These factors forged a lasting
7:28
relationship which lasts until today, with Russia still wanting to buy influence within Europe
7:33
and both people still feeling a cultural proximity between them. And then we have odd ones that are
7:38
difficult to understand at first glance, like India and Israel. Since the 1990s, India and the
7:43
state of Israel have had a comprehensive economic, military, and political relationship. It's
7:49
interesting because they initially voted against the UN resolution of 1947 for partitioning
7:53
Palestine, but then they recognized Israel in 1950. Collaboration gradually increased as Israel
7:59
became a key Indian ally amidst the India-Pakistan conflicts in the late 20th century, supplying it
8:05
with weapons, ammunition, and intelligence. As of 2022, India was Israel's largest client for
8:11
military equipment sales, with 42% of all Israeli arms exports being received by India. The Israeli
8:19
strategy of supporting India so closely and intensely resulted in a special relationship
8:23
between them up to today. Turkey and South Korea is also odd when you first see it
8:28
they're so distant from each other and neither is a world power wanting to buy influence in another
8:33
region. And interestingly, it goes back in history a long time too. Early contact can actually be
8:39
traced back to antiquity when the Gokturks, the first Turkic Kanat, supported the ancient Goguriyo
8:46
a Korean kingdom during their expansion and also assisted them against the Tang Chinese forces
8:51
As both were threatened by the Chinese, they formed a political, economical, and military alliance
8:57
Later on in history, perhaps using that ancient aid as reference, the Turks once again sent aid to the South Koreans upon their formation after World War II
9:06
sending what became known as the Turkish Brigade, a military expeditionary force of 15,000 Turkish
9:12
soldiers that helped South Koreans against North Koreans and Chinese forces in the Korean War Turkish troops withdrew from Korea during the 1970s and then the focus of the relationship between the two countries moved from military to economy and commerce but still
9:27
remaining close. Some other special relationships are simpler like Italy and the Vatican which
9:33
exists inside Italy so a special relationship is necessary. In addition, Italy formed out of all
9:38
the independent Italian states, conquering part of what was then the larger people states too
9:43
This both caused initial relations to be negative but forcing them to evolve into close collaboration
9:49
Initially, as the Kingdom of Italy conquered their land and captured Rome
9:52
the papacy was essentially besieged by Italy until it agreed to the law of guarantees which
9:58
defined the Vatican's sovereign status. It was only under Pope Pius XI that the Lateran Treaty
10:03
was signed establishing the state of the Vatican City, allowing for greater papal autonomy and
10:08
and attributing financial compensation to the Vatican by Italy for the loss of the Papal States
10:14
France and Monaco have a similar relationship, given that the latter is also a micro-state
10:19
Monaco actually achieved independence from France in 1419, also signing a perpetual alliance
10:24
Their relationship grew closer during World War I, with a treaty that put Monaco under limited French protection once again
10:31
and affirmed the special relationship. This relationship continues up to today, with the French government taking responsibility for Monaco's defense
10:38
In exchange, France's neighboring regions benefit from Monaco's financial prosperity, some claim it's used as a tax haven as well
10:46
Or China and North Korea. Their proximity goes back, in part, to resistance to Japanese occupation
10:52
then to the Korean aid during the Chinese Civil War, and Chinese Communist aid to North Korea during the Korean War
10:57
Since then, they have cooperated very closely. Many say that since the fall of the Soviet Union
11:02
North Korea's only other ally of Russia has moved away from aiding it as much
11:06
and China has become the main and almost only country that is their supporter
11:11
It provides North Korea with financing and military aid in exchange for keeping their refugees out of China
11:16
plus having an additional ally against South Korea and Japan, who are close to the US
11:21
Many other pairs of countries with special relationships exist, most resulting from close geographical proximity between neighbors
11:28
cultural proximity between former colonizers and former colonies, or between a big world power and a regional country
11:34
where influence is exchanged for aid. So I believe these we saw here allow us to understand the general idea of the concept
11:42
So, those are some of the countries in the world that have what is known in foreign policy
11:47
as special relationships, understanding how the concept first emerged with the truly close
11:51
and special relationship between the US and the UK and how it then expanded to other relations
11:56
of close proximity and alliance between other countries in the world. What do you think about this topic
12:01
Are there any other countries that you know have a special relationship and aren't on
12:05
this official list? And do you know of any other extra details about the ones I mentioned in the video
12:10
Let me know in the comments. Thanks for watching, subscribe if you want and I will see you next time for more general knowledge
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