Primary and Secondary Enemies

For today’s article, I will discuss the difference between primary and secondary enemies within politics and international relations using examples from current international relations and the Allies versus the Axis powers during World War II.

What constitutes a primary enemy is the enemy that is the most severe threat to that opponent’s nation.

During World War II, Germany was the primary enemy of the Allied powers of Great Britain, the Soviet Union/Russia, and the United States.

The reason for this was that Germany was a direct threat to the British and the Russians, with the German leadership led by Adolf Hitler attempting to invade Britain in 1940 during the Battle of Britain and the German invasion of the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa.

From 22 June 1941 to the conclusion of the Second World War 1945, around 25 million Russian people were killed by Germany.

This further highlights why Germany was the primary enemy of the Allied powers.

As for the Japanese and the Italians, who were allies of Germany during the Second World War, making the other part of the Axis alliance was never a primary threat to the Allied nations.

Japan never directly threatened the territorial integrity of the Russians, Americans or the British.

The Japanese were a regional threat which the Americans, British and Russians had to deal with once Nazi Germany had been defeated, which meant that the…