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Non-Aligned Policy
After the Second World War, two superpowers emerged in international politics — the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States sought to unite countries under the banner of capitalism, while the Soviet Union attempted to organize nations under socialism. As a result, rival political and military blocs were formed. This bipolar politics gradually spread beyond Europe and North America and began to influence the underdeveloped and developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In this context, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) emerged as a rejection of bloc politics.
The chief architect of the Non-Aligned Movement was Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. His principal associates included Indonesian President Sukarno, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah, and later Yugoslav leader Marshal Tito, who had been expelled from the Cominform by Stalin.
The main argument behind non-alignment was that the newly independent, underdeveloped, and developing countries faced numerous problems whose solutions could only be achieved through an independent and neutral outlook. Becoming entangled in bloc politics would only complicate these problems further. Thus, maintaining equal distance from both the capitalist and socialist blocs while remaining acceptable to both sides became one of the key features of this policy.
Many Western commentators interpreted non-alignment as passivity in international affairs. However, non-aligned countries never intended to isolate themselves from world events. Nehru stated that non-alignment did not mean indifference; rather, it meant adopting definite policies to control aggressive and warlike forces in order to protect independence and sovereignty. In essence, non-alignment meant voluntarily staying outside the two major power blocs while independently expressing opinions on global political and economic issues. In this way, non-alignment created a new platform in international politics.
The first attempt toward non-alignment can be traced to the Afro-Asian Conference held in Delhi in 1947. Later, in 1949, another conference was organized in Delhi under Nehru’s initiative with newly independent countries, where the need for a common platform was emphasized. In 1954, the first proposal related to non-alignment was raised in Colombo. However, the real beginning of the Non-Aligned Movement took place at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia in 1955, where representatives from 27 Afro-Asian countries participated and expressed support for anti-colonial struggles.
In 1961, the first summit conference of the Non-Aligned Movement was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where several common principles were declared. These included:
Non-aligned countries would adopt an independent foreign policy aimed primarily at peaceful coexistence.
There would be no interference in the internal affairs of other states.
States would continuously support the right of every nation to independence and self-determination.
Member countries would not join military alliances formed as a result of conflicts between major powers.
If a country entered into bilateral military agreements with major powers, joined alliances, or allowed foreign military bases on its soil, such arrangements should never arise from conflicts between the two superpowers.
As a platform for developing countries, the Non-Aligned Movement played an important role in international politics. During the 1950s and 1960s, it worked toward ending the arms race between the two superpowers, supported United Nations efforts to resolve regional conflicts, and helped build global public opinion against colonialism and racial discrimination. NAM also spoke out against neo-colonial exploitation and played a significant role in addressing regional conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War and the Afghanistan crisis during the 1980s.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, questions arose regarding the relevance of non-alignment in a post-Cold War world. In response, it may be argued that although the Cold War ended, the exploitation of weaker states by powerful nations did not. In fact, American oil diplomacy, debt traps, globalization, and economic imperialism under the banner of free-market policies became even more intense. Other powerful states also followed similar paths, and such accusations were raised even against communist China.
The Non-Aligned Movement has consistently raised its voice against these exploitative policies. Therefore, non-alignment was relevant in the past and remains relevant today. For this reason, the number of its member states continues to grow over time.
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