An unholy alliance popularly refers to an alliance which is perceived as unnatural, unusual, or simply undesirable, sometimes between seemingly antagonistic parties.
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Original use
In 1855, the term Unholy Alliance was used for Western European alliances with the Ottoman Empire against the interests of Russia, Greece, and most of the Balkans.
Later use
In 1912, US politician Theodore Roosevelt campaigned against the "invisible government", "the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics".
In the context of World War II, the term has been used for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which partitioned Poland.
The term was also used by the short-lived Republic of Biafra to refer to Nigeria and its allies the UK and the USSR.
The term came to be used by African nationalists when describing the predominantly white governments of Southern Africa from 1961 to 1980: South Africa, Rhodesia, and the Portuguese Empire. For example, during the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Fourteenth Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 27 February to 6 March 1970, stated they were "Deeply concerned at the strengthening of the unholy alliance among the racist regimes of Pretoria, Salisbury, Lisbon and their collaboration with other imperialist powers..." In its resolution 3151 G (XXVIII) of 14 December 1973, the UN General Assembly condemned what it termed an unholy alliance between South African apartheid and zionism.