Nonalignment Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Nonalignment refers to a policy of neutrality toward international security alliances. It is most commonly used to reference an organized movement of former colonies and developing nations formed during the cold war. A nonaligned country was by definition one that had no formal pact with either the United States or the Soviet bloc, although in several cases, most prominently that of Cuba, this position was only nominal. The stark power difference between nonaligned countries and the cold war blocs forced many such countries to eventually take positions that challenged the movement’s integrity, and in the opinion of some, undermined its effectiveness.

The earliest mention of the term nonalignment is credited to Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who used it during a 1954 speech on Sino-Indian relations. India’s definitive nonviolent liberation movement provided Nehru the political capital to voice the antiimperial, anticolonial, and ant hegemonic values of the developing world. Joined in leadership with Prime Minister Sukarno of Indonesia and President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Nehru convened a meeting in 1955 with the heads of 29 states—representing the first generation of postcolonial leaders—in Bandung, Indonesia, to discuss joint policies and positions on issues of international relations. Subsequent meetings held in Cairo in 1961 and Belgrade later in the same year formalized the organization of states and the objectives of the movement. In its eventual institutional form, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) expressed solidarity with principles beyond cold war neutrality, including independence, noninterference, support of national liberation movements, strengthening of the United Nations (UN), peaceful coexistence, opposition to colonialism and neocolonialism, and resistance to Western domination. These broad principles have allowed the organization to survive the cold war and continue to guide its positions on foreign policy and global economic issues.

Today, comprising 118 states and over half the world’s population, the NAM provides a common international platform for most of the globe’s developing nations. Although it is separate from the UN, the NAM focuses and coordinates much of its efforts through the UN. The rotating chair of the NAM— currently Cuba’s Raul Castro—is passed to the nation hosting the organization’s triennial summit. The chair is responsible for NAM administrative coordination, and that country’s UN ambassador also acts as minister of nonaligned affairs at the UN. This revolving administration is said to reflect the equal and nonhierarchical spirit of the movement.

In addition to representation through the UN General Assembly, the NAM presents a common front at the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council, International Labor Organization, World Health Organization, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and other non-UN multilateral venues. While the movement claims to play a crucial role in supporting an agenda of global justice, international cooperation, support for the underrepresented, and respect for human rights, its actual degree of influence on international politics is difficult to measure and remains questionable to some. Despite these concerns, the NAM remains the oldest organization designed to promote the collective political and economic interests of former colonies and developing nations.

Bibliography:

Köchler, Hans. The Principles of Non-Alignment: The Non-Aligned Countries in the Eighties: Results And Perspectives. London: Third World Centre; Vienna: International Progress Organization, 1982.
Non-Aligned Movement Cuba Summit. “NAM Background and General Information: Structure, Organization, and Procedure.” April 20, 2009. http://espana.cubanoal.cu/ingles/index.html.
Willetts, Peter. The Non-Aligned Movement: The Origins of a Third World Alliance. New York: Nichols, 1978.

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