NON

Alignment
MOVEMENT

BY : Kajal Bhati
 The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was created and founded during
INTRODUCTION the collapse of the colonial system and the independence struggles of
the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions of the
world and at the height of the Cold War, During the early days of the
Movement, its actions were a key factor in the decolonization process,
which led later to the attainment of freedom and independence by
many countries and peoples and to the founding of tens of New
Sovereign States. Throughout its history, the Movement of Non-
Aligned Countries has played a fundamental role in the preservation of
world peace and security.
While some meetings with a third-world perspective were held before
1955, historians consider that the Bandung Asian-African Conference
is the most immediate antecedent to the creation of the Non-Aligned
Movement. This Conference was held in Bandung on April 18-24,
1955 and gathered 29 Heads of States belonging to the first post-
colonial generation of leaders from the two continents with the aim of
identifying and assessing world issues at the time and pursuing out
joint policies in international relations.
 The Non-Aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek
to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union, but sought to remain
independent or neutral. The basic concept for the group originated in 1955 during discussions that took
place at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in Indonesia.
 The first NAM Summit Conference took ace in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961. It has 120
members as on April 2018 comprising 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and
the Caribbean and 2 from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). There are 17 countries and 10 international
organizations that are Observers at NAM. The Non-Aligned Movement was founded and held its first
conference (the Belgrade Conference) in 1961 under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia,
Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Sukarno of
Indonesia.
 The purpose of the organization was enumerated in Havana Declaration of 1979 to ensure "the national
independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their struggle
against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign subjugation.
 PRINCIPLES
 As J.L Nehru was founding members, the principles of NAM was largely guided by Panchsheel principles, some of
them are:
 Respect for the principles enshrined in the charter of the United Nations and international law.
 Respect for sovereignty, sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all States.
 Peaceful settlement of all international conflicts in accordance with the charter of the United Nations.
 Respect for the political, economic, social and cultural diversity of countries and peoples.
 Defence and promotion of shared interests, justice and cooperation, regardless of the differences existing in the
political, economic and social systems of the States, on the basis of mutual respect and the equality of rights.
 Respect for the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence, in accordance with the charter of the United
Nations
 Non-interference in the internal affairs of States. No State or group of States has the right to intervene either directly or
indirectly, whatever the motive, in the internal affairs of any other State.
 Promotion and defence of multilateralism and multilateral organisations as the appropriate frameworks to resolve,
through dialogue and cooperation, the problems affecting humankind.
 OBJECTIVES
One of the chief objectives of NAM
was “to create an independent path in
world politics that would not result in
member States becoming pawns in the
struggles between the major powers.”
•The three elements that define the
approach of the organisation are:
• Right of independent judgement
• Struggle against imperialism and
neo-colonialism
• Use of moderation in relations with
all big powers
•In the current times, an objective of the
organisation is restructuring the
international economic order.
 BANDUNG CONFERENCE
Bandung Asian-African conference in 1955 is considered as most
immediate antecedent to the creation of NAM. Meeting was
HISTORY attended by 29 Heads of states. These belonged to first post-
colonial generation. The objective was to identify and assess
AND world issues and pursuing joint policies in international relations.
There was also another important reason. These countries had
EVOLUTI newly attained independence. Development and increasing
standard of living was main concern for them. And therefore they
ON did not wanted to be part of either Western or Eastern block and
become part of cold war.
‘Ten Principles of Bandung’ were proclaimed at the conference.
And such principles were later adopted as the main goals and
objectives of NAM.
 BELGRADE SUMMIT
Six year after Bandung the Movement of
Non-Aligned countries was founded at the
First Summit Conference of Belgrade. On Sep
1-6 1961. The conference was attended by
members of 25 countries from Asia, Africa
and Europe, and Latin America (Cuba). The
NAM was declared as ‘movement’ and not
organization to avoid the bureaucratic
implications of the latter.
It was conceived to play a active role in
international politics, to have its own stand on
international matters. Which will reflect the
interest of its members.

1st NAM Summit, Belgrade

NAM MEMBER COUNTRIES

Member countries
Observer countries
 NAM MEMBER COUNTRIES

The list of NAM member countries are given in the table below:

There are currently 120 member countries in the NAM. India is a founding member of the organisation.
• Our neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan are also
members.
• China has observer status.
• All African countries except Western Sahara and South Sudan are members of NAM.
• In the Americas, many South and Central American nations are members.
• Among European countries, Azerbaijan and Belarus are members of NAM.
• There are many organisations and countries that are given observer status. Some of them are the United
Nation, African Union, Arab League, Commonwealth Secretariat, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, etc.
• It is the largest inter-country organisation outside of the UN.
 Against Apartheid: The evil of
apartheid was massively prevalent in
UNSC reforms: Right from its
African countries like South Africa, inception NAM was in the favour
its was on the agenda of NAM right of UNSC reforms, it was against
from first conference. During 2nd the domination of US and USSR. It
NAM conference at Cairo the wanted the representation of third
government of South Africa was world countries to make UNSC
NAM IN warned against the discriminatory
practices of apartheid.
more democratic. Members echoed
with same demand at 17th NAM
COLD WAR  Disarmament: The Non-aligned conference at Venezuela.

ERA Movement repeatedly comes out for

maintenance of peace,’the cessation
 Failed to resolve regional
tensions: In the era of cold war
of arms race and the peaceful the tension in South Asia
coexistence of all States. In the escalated due to regional conflict
General Assembly, India submitted between India- China and India-
a draft resolution declaring that the Pakistan. NAM failed to avoid
use of nuclear weapons would be tensions in the region, that
against the charter of the United further led to the the
Nations and crime against humanity nuclearisation of the region.
and should therefore be prohibited.
 INDIA’s POSITION
• India being a founder and largest member in NAM was an active participant in NAM meetings till 1970s but India’s
inclination towards erstwhile USSR created confusions in smaller members. It led to the weakening of NAM and small
nations drifted towards either US or USSR. Further disintegration of USSR led the unipolar world order dominated by
US. India’s New Economic Policy and inclination towards US raised questions over India’s seriousness over non
alignment.
• Prime Minister of India skipped the 17th Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit held in Venezuela in 2016, it was
only second such instance when Head of a state didn’t participate in NAM conference.
• Moreover, NAM continued losing relevance for India in a unipolar world, especially after the founding members failed
to support India during crisis. For instance, during 1962 War with China, Ghana and Indonesia, adopted explicitly pro-
China positions. During 1965 and 1971 wars, Indonesia and Egypt took an anti India stance and supported Pakistan.
India in particular, but also most other NAM countries, have integrated themselves to varying degrees within the liberal
economic order and have benefited from it.
• India is a member of the G20 and has declared itself as a nuclear weapons power and has for all practical purposes
abandoned the call for global nuclear disarmament.
• India has also engaged itself with new and old global powers. India joining the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a
coalition seen by many as a counterforce to China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific and Shanghai cooperation organisation led
by China shown India’s balancing approach in new world order.
• India is striving hard for a multipolar world order and asserting itself as one of the player. Multi polar world order is
 RELEVANCE OF NAM
• World peace - NAM has played an active role in preserving world peace.It still stands by its founding
principles, idea and purpose i.e. to establish the peaceful and prosperous world. It prohibited invasion of
any country, promoted disarmament and a sovereign world order.
• Territorial integrity and sovereignty - NAM stands with this principle and proved its repeated relevance
with the idea of preserving the independence of every nation.
• Third World nations - Third world countries fighting against socio-economic problems since they have
been exploited for a long time by other developed nations, NAM acted as a protector for these small
countries against the western hegemony.
• Support of UN - NAM’s total strength compromises of 118 developing countries and most of them being a
member of UN General Assembly. It represents two third members of general assembly, hence NAM
members act as important vote blocking group in UN.
• Equitable world order - NAM promotes equitable world order. It can act as a bridge between the political
and ideological differences existing in the international environment.
• Interest of developing countries - If disputes arise between developed and developing nation at any point
of a concerned topic for example WTO, then NAM act as a platform which negotiates and conclude
disputes peacefully securing the favorable decisions for each member nation.
 CONCLUSION
The Non-Aligned Movement, established during the Cold War era,
remains a significant force in international politics. Founded on the
principles of non-alignment, sovereignty, and independence, NAM has
played a vital role in promoting global peace, development, and
cooperation. Over the years, NAM has evolved to address contemporary
challenges, including economic disparities, social inequalities, and
environmental concerns. It has provided a platform for developing
countries to voice their concerns on the international stage and seek
solutions to pressing issues.

In conclusion, the Non-Aligned Movement remains an influential and

dynamic entity in the realm of international relations, advocating for a
more just and equitable world order while upholding the principles of
non-alignment and cooperation among nations. Its role in shaping the
future of global diplomacy will continue to be of significance in the
years to come.
Prime Minister participates at the online Summit of
NAM

THANK YOU
  https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/Paper2/non-al
igned-movement-nam
 https://www.nti.org/education-center/treaties-and-regi
mes/non-aligned-movement-nam/
REFERENCES  https://www.studocu.com/row/document/purbanchal-v
ishwavidyalaya/international-relations/origin-and-deve
lopment-of-nam/43247852
 https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/pdf/Members-and-oth
er-participants.pdf
 http://www.surendranatheveningcollege.com/wp-cont
ent/uploads/2020/04/Indias-policy-of-non-alignment-1.
pdf