The Non–Alignment Movement and Its Relevance Today

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was founded during the collapse of the colonial system and the independence struggles of the people of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other regions of the world at the height of the Cold War.

The creation and strengthening of the socialist block after the defeat of fascism in World War II, the collapse of colonial empires, the emergence of a bipolar world, and the formation of two military blocks (NATO and the Warsaw Pact) brought about a new international context that led to the necessity of multilateral coordination between the countries of the global South.

In this context, the underdeveloped countries, most of them in Asia and Africa, felt the need to join efforts for the common defense of their interests, the strengthening of their independence and sovereignty, the cultural and economic revival of their people, and also to express a strong commitment with peace by declaring themselves as “non-aligned” from either of the two nascent military blocks.

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 the establishment of new nation-states.

While some meetings with a third-world perspective were held before 1955, historians consider that the Bandung Asian-African Conference, held in Bandung on April 18-24, 1955 is the antecedent to the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement; its expressed goal was to identify and assess world issues at the time and coordinate policies to deal with them.

In 1960, during the Fifteenth Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly, 17 new African and Asian countries were admitted, in which a key role was played in this process by the then Heads of States like Shri Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Ahmed Sukarno of Indonesia and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, who later became the founding fathers of the movement and its emblematic leaders.

It was through this process that Nehru came to be seen as an international statesman, both domestically and even outside India. Nehru’s vision of NAM included the political decolonization of Asia and Africa. Moreover, other leaders agreed with him that the recently attained political independence was just a means to attain the goal of economic, social, and cultural independence.

Some facts about NAM that deserve a mention:

1. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 developing world states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
2. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide
3. The movement originated as an effort by some countries to avoid the polarized world of the Cold War.

• Context and Concept of NAM

The term “non-alignment” was coined by Shri V K Menon, in his speech at the United Nations in 1953, which was later used by Indian Prime Minister, Shri Jawahar Lal Nehru during his speech in 1954 in Colombo, in which he described the Panchsheel (five restraints) which would later become the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Nehru was one of the architects of the Non-Aligned Movement; his objective was not to stay neutral on issues and challenges confronting the international community but to adopt common and joint positions based on the merits of each case. In addition, Nehru was highly committed to fighting against colonialism, imperialism, racism, and apartheid, and to creating a new international economic order which would be fair and equitable and safeguard the interests of developing countries. It is common knowledge in international relations, that a coherent group increases negotiating and bargaining power rather than individual nation-level activism; NAM fitted, thus very well into Indian interests at the global level back then.

A newly independent and poor country like India which had just suffered the horrors of a painful Partition and population transfers was not in a position to take a very strong and out-of-the-box stand on any international issue. 

The five-year plans after 1950 also clearly reflect that the priority of that era was social and economic development that would enable the country to grow and improve its self-image. 

In such a scenario moving towards any particular ideology or power bloc would have meant letting go of opportunities and resources available on the other side. Also since our foreign policy back then was not very strict and we needed to keep all options open in case any one source of support or resources got constrained, it was quite a realistic and pragmatic viewpoint to carry on with the idea of Non-Alignment.

India was thus able to get the required help, from all possible quarters, at the same time maintaining its image of being a nonaligned state, at least till the 1970s.

Moreover, the independence of India gave hope to other smaller nations that were yearning for independence, whose informal leadership eventually fell in the hands of India, which now could not risk losing this support if it aligned with any particular bloc. 

The idea of NAM also gave sufficient space for moving around, especially on issues like nuclear disarmament, wherein Nehru was quite vocal about the complete removal of nuclear weapons from the world, at the same time, he had given a go-ahead for starting a civilian nuclear program in India, very well realizing that this is the only reliable option if dis-armament fails or India gets threatened by a nuclear strike. 

Therefore, somewhere down the line, the rhetoric of NAM also had an element of realism, that was ultimately linked to Indian national interests as perceived and understood by the then political decision-making elite. 

As far as India is concerned it would be useful to distinguish between the philosophy and ideology of ”Non Alignment” which lays emphasis on strategic independence and autonomy, and the “Non Aligned Movement” which seeks to take a collective position on challenges faced by the developing world. This necessarily tends to be the lowest common denominator.

India’s experience of the Non-Aligned Movement was disappointing as the Group decided to take an equidistant position in India’s 1962 war with China, in the 1965 war with Pakistan, and the 1974 peaceful nuclear explosion. India has however felt it useful to continue to support and actively engage with the Movement because it has provided a high profile and strong voice to India in international fora and affairs. Jawaharlal Nehru preferred to call it a movement but not an organization in order to avoid the bureaucratic implications of the latter.

He conceived it not to play a passive role in international politics but to formulate its own positions in an independent manner so as to reflect the interests of its members. Thus, the primary objectives focused on the support of self-determination, national independence and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, non-adherence to multilateral military pacts, and the independence of non-aligned countries from great power or block influences and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

Since the foundation of NAM, Nehru had waged a ceaseless battle to ensure that people being oppressed by foreign occupation and domination can exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.

A quick look at the 10 principles of the Bandung Conference explains very well why Nehru emphasized NAM as a realist approach to foreign policy:

• Respect for fundamental human rights and the objectives and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
• Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
• Recognition of the equality among all races and of the equality among all nations, both large and small.
• Non-intervention or non-interference in the internal affairs of another -country.
• Respect for the right of every nation to defend itself, either individually or collectively, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.
• Non-use of collective defence pacts to benefit the specific interests of any of the great powers.
  Non-use of pressures by any country against other countries.
• Refraining from carrying out or threatening to carry out aggression, or from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any country.
• A peaceful solution of all international conflicts in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.
• Promotion of mutual interests and of cooperation.
• Respect for justice and international obligations.

For India, the concept of non-alignment began as a policy of non-participation in the military affairs of a bipolar world and in the context of colonialism aimed towards optimum involvement through multi-polar participation towards peace and security.

Nehru’s concept of non-alignment brought India considerable international prestige among newly independent states that shared its concerns about the military confrontation between the superpowers and the influence of the former colonial powers. By laying the foundation stone of ‘Non-Alignment Movement’, India was able to establish a significant role for itself as a leader of the newly independent world and in multilateral organisations like the UNO.

• Evolution of NAM

The tenets of NAM evolved over a long period. One of the prime movers behind its evolution was undoubtedly Jawaharlal Nehru.

Nehru was in Europe for two years 1925-’27 where he participated on behalf of the Indian National Congress at the first International Congress Against Colonial Oppression and Imperialism held in Brussels.

It was when the League Against Imperialism and National Independence was formed at the culmination of the conference—with Nehru being one of the members of its executive committee—an organised opposition to colonialism and imperialism began in a concerted way.

Nehru’s thoughts were firmly molded by the deliberations at the 1927 Congress, where he interacted with many heads of States. By taking the initiative to express solidarity with other anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movements, and being at the forefront of the Indian national movement, Nehru gradually became a prominent Indian statesman with international stature. The major foreign policy decision that Nehru, as head of India’s interim government, made was his declaration that India would not join groups of states that were aligned against each other but would strive to establish friendly relations with all countries. This was clearly visible when Nehru decided to continue India’s membership with the British Commonwealth despite, very strong domestic opposition. 

During a radio address on September 7, 1946, Nehru said, “We propose, as far as possible, to keep away from the power politics of groups aligned against one another, which have led in the past to world wars and which may again lead to disasters on an even vaster scale…The world, in spite of its inner rivalries and hatreds and inner conflict, moves inevitably towards closer cooperation and the building up of a world commonwealth. It is for this One World that free India will work, a world in which there is the free cooperation of free peoples, and no class or group exploits another.”

Relevance today

The end of the Cold war and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 proved to be a watershed in the evolution of NAM. NAM was forced to carve out a new role for itself as its initial objectives of de-colonization and the end of apartheid had been largely realized by then. Although ensuring peace, security and economic development of developing countries has emerged as the new mantra to be pursued by the movement, there has been a scant agreement between members on policies required to fulfill these objectives. 

This is so because several members of the grouping including India have been strengthening their engagement with the developed world to invite capital, technology, better management practices, larger markets, etc. to improve the economic conditions of their citizens.

An important advantage of the NAM summits is the opportunity it provides to leaders of the movement to meet and confabulate with each other on issues of bilateral, regional, and international concern. India should hence continue to engage actively with the Movement and derive the maximum benefit possible for itself and the members of the group.

Current challenges facing the NAM include the necessity of protecting the principles of International law, eliminating weapons of mass destruction, combating terrorism, defending human rights, and working toward making the United Nations more effective in meeting the needs of all its member states in order to preserve international peace, security, and stability, as well as realizing justice in the international economic system. Thus, there is considerable scope for improvement within NAM and for adapting itself to the changing global politics.

Conclusion 

The non-aligned nations were unable to fulfill the role of peacekeepers during the Indo-China war of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 despite meaningful attempts. The non-aligned response to the Bangladesh Liberation War showed most of the non-aligned nations prioritized territorial integrity above human rights. It was during this period, that India’s non-aligned stance was questioned and criticized.

Nehru was opposed to the conformity required by both blocs in the Cold War, as it was the least costly policy for promoting India’s diplomatic presence, a sensible approach when India was weak and looked down upon by both blocs and the best means of securing economic assistance from abroad. India played a lone hand against colonialism and racism until many African states achieved independence after 1960.

India played a very prominent role as a facilitator at the 1954 Geneva Peace Conference on Indochina, whereafter non-alignment appeared to have come of age. 

The difficulty was always to find a definition of this policy, which caused a credibility gap between theory and practice. In the early years, there was economic dependence on donor countries who were nearly members of western military pacts. Indian equidistance to both Koreas and both Vietnams was shown by India recognising neither.

Nehru’s misgivings were confirmed when only two members, Cyprus and Ethiopia, of the conference supported India in the war with China. 

The years following Nehru’s death saw the atrophy of his idealism, and non-alignment during his successors eventually phased out. Every international organisation has a shelf life, though many survive for years in semi-neglect. The League of Nations was given the coup de grâce after seven years of inactivity only in 1946, even after the United Nations had come into being. The Commonwealth will last only as long as the British find it useful. 

Few among even our serving diplomats could tell what transpired at the last Non-aligned Conference or where the next will be held, and whether in the future either the theory or practice of NAM could again be put to any use in Indian foreign policy, because in diplomatic maneuvering you have to keep all options open, always. 

After all, national interests are permanent, ideology, the rhetoric of neutrality, strategic ambiguity, and policy changes are temporary, and this is something that the founding fathers of NAM understood very well; national interest being the primary reason why those nations decided to be apart of NAM back then.

 

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