Coalition of the willing
 Coalition of the willing  (international organisation)    | |
|---|---|
 48 countries in the US-led Iraq 'coalition' | |
A coalition of the willing is a temporary international partnership created for the purpose of achieving a particular objective, usually of a military or political nature.[1]
Origin
The term was coined in the early 1970s by MIT professor Lincoln P. Bloomfield who described the need for a coalition of willing nations to support important peacekeeping or conflict stabilisation goals endorsed by the United Nations, in a New York Times op-ed.[2]
Iraq war
The Bush administration briefly used "coalition of the willing" to refer to the countries who supported, militarily or politically, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent military presence in post-invasion Iraq.[3] The coalition comprised 48 countries, four of which contributed troops to the invasion force (the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland), while 37 provided some number of troops to support military operations after the invasion was complete. By August 2009, all non-US/UK coalition members had withdrawn from Iraq and the coalition of the willing came to an official end.[4]
Ukraine invasion
A coalition of 31 countries have pledged strengthened support for Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine pledging their readiness to be part of a peacekeeping force deployed on Ukrainian territory, either by providing troops or contributing in other ways. The initiative, led by the United Kingdom and France, was announced by Keir Starmer on 2 March 2025, following the 2025 London Summit on Ukraine.[5]
Gaza genocide
On 10 May 2025, Jeremy Corbyn posted on X:
- Why isn’t there a “coalition of the willing” to stop the mass starvation and genocide in Gaza?[6]
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polarising perspective | “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” | George W. Bush | 20 September 2001 |
References
- ↑ "The Conceptual Metaphor ‘Coalition of the Willing’"
- ↑ "Resurrecting the United Nations"
- ↑ "Bush: Join 'coalition of willing'"
- ↑ "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq"
- ↑ "Reassurance, not peacekeeping: What Ukraine coalition force will and won't do"
- ↑ "Why isn’t there a 'coalition of the willing' to stop the mass starvation and genocide in Gaza?"
