The beast being riden in Revelation is definately a union of political power. If you read Daniel's vision of the four different beasts (Dan ch 7), you'll see that the beast in Revelation is simply a merger of Daniel's four beasts.
Also, in Daniel ch 7, one of the four beasts was a lion with eagle's wings. The eagle's wings were ripped off of the lion - symbolic of America (the eagle) being ripped away from Britian (the lion). The other beasts of Daniel were a lepard (Germany) and a bear (Russia) and some other beast that will come to power near the end of time.
In Revelation, Daniel's beasts have merged into one: "And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2The beast I saw resembled a
leopard, but had feet like those of a
bear and a mouth like that of a
lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority." (Revelation 13:1-2)
Notice in Rev 13:2 (above), it states that the beast has a mouth of a lion - meaning when this international force is formed, the international language would be the language of the lion (Britian) - English.
This international arrangement will be in agreement during the last days.
Daniel ch 7 is a great read, and it gives it's own interpretation. The book of Revelation can be thought of as a detailed version of Daniel ch 7.
Here is Daniel chapter 7 from the NIV:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=dan%207;&version=31;