Contemporary aspects of nonalignment
Non-alignment started at the Bandung Conference of April 1955, which brought together the heads of 29 recently decolonized states of Asia and Africa who were determined to assert their independence of all forms of colonialism and neo-colonialism; it took institutional form with the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the Belgrade conference in 1961.
In the era of confrontation between the East and West blocs, the movement’s aim was to assert a set of shared principles intended to preserve these states’ autonomy: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity; non-aggression; non-interference in domestic affairs; equality and mutual support; peaceful co-existence.
Behind the initial cohesion, various strands quickly formed within the movement, as in practice some states maintained exclusive relations with one of the two blocs, while others were engaged in open conflict (India and Pakistan, for example). These divisions impaired the NAM’s ability to produce anything more than symbolic declarations and forms of cooperation. Nonetheless, the principles it asserted raised the profile of the “ third world ” enabling these actors to claim their political autonomy and show that they were not prepared to submit to power politics and proxy wars imposed by the two major powers.
Non-Aligned Movement, 2018
Comment: The Non-Aligned Movement (independence from colonialism and neocolonialism, and not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc, either East or West) started during the Cold War at the 1955 Bandung conference (29 states). It was institutionalized in 1961, survived the bipolar period, and today boasts 120 members. However, three large countries in the Southern hemisphere – China, Brazil, and Mexico – are merely observers.
When the end of the Cold War called the basis of its existence into question, the NAM sought to reinvent itself. Today the movement sees its function as providing a platform for countries of the South, promoting their interests in the context of multilateral negotiations and embodying opposition to neocolonialism. Yet it remains weakened by divisions between its members and the existence of other organizations or groups representing a similar agenda in multilateral bodies (the G77). Today the NAM has 120 members, i.e. two-thirds of member states of the UN and 55% of the global population.
- decolonized > Decolonization
- The empires that resulted from the two great waves of colonization were called into question by colonized countries during the inter-war period. They subsequently collapsed after World War II. The United Kingdom relied on the Commonwealth to make a relatively smooth exit from colonialism, whereas France lost two wars, one in Indochina, the other in Algeria. In 1955, the Bandung conference brought together representatives from twenty-nine countries to mark their support for independence struggles. Spain and Portugal were the last European states to cling to their empires, which nevertheless collapsed in 1975. Although the colonial empires have all disappeared, they have left their mark on territories that are claiming their independence. The last half-century has witnessed the ongoing Israeli colonization of Palestine.
- blocs > Bloc
- A common notion to describe the set of states gathered around one or other of the two poles (the United States and the USSR) during the Cold War. It has since been used to talk of the regional groups now known as “commercial blocs.” This term puts the emphasis on closure and confrontation without expressing the internal diversity or dynamism of these states.
- third world > Third World
- The term Third Word, coined in 1952 by French demographer Alfred Sauvy, has become dated since the end of the Cold War. A reference to the Third Estate of the French Revolution (Sieyès), for Sauvy the Third World comprised those countries, mainly in the South, that were “ignored, exploited, and scorned” and “also wants to be something.” The desire of these actors to promote discussions of the North-South divide (notably in relation to development) rather than focusing solely on East-West relations reveals the political dimension of their actions.
- wars > War
- Violent confrontation between armed groups over values, status, power or scarce resources, in which the aim of each party is to neutralize, weaken or eliminate their adversaries. This organized, collective, armed violence can be undertaken by states (via their national armies) or by non-state groups; it can bring several states into opposition (interstate war) or occur within a single state (civil war). The former, progressively codified within a legal framework, have become rare, while the latter, today primarily caused by state institutional failure, are tending to become more international in scope, to last over time (sometimes decades) and to be extremely devastating, especially for civilian populations.