Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its Relevance in a Multipolar World? | HPSC Preparation: All subjects - HPSC (Haryana) PDF Download

Politics

Non-alignment movement (NAM) is a group of countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power block. The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and the idea was conceived by leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the first Indian prime minister, Sukarno who is the first Indonesia President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt’s second president, Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah and Yugoslavia’s president, Josip Broz Tito. Jawaharlal Nehru propounded the five pillars to be used as a guide for Indo-China relations called panchsheel, which later served as the basic principles of a non-aligned movement. The five principles were mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual nonaggression, mutual non-interference in domestic affairs, equality and mutual benefit, peaceful coexistence.

History

After the Second World War (WW2), the world was divided into two blocks the West by the USA and the other hand USSR; thus, the advent of the cold war happened post WW2. Some countries like India who were newly independent of colonial rule, wanted to stay sovereign. Thus, in 1955 in Bandung (Indonesia), newly independent states of Africa and Asia came together to inaugurate a new approach of inter-state relations known as non-alignment. Fresh out of the colonial rule, these new states felt that they should not align with either the east or the west. They needed to shelter together, to forge an alternative, to put efforts to build a peaceful new world order where the obligations of the UN Charter could be met. Thus, these states neither belonged to the western bloc nor the eastern bloc and remained non-aligned.

Is the NAM still Relevant?

The movement is passing through a bit of a rough patch. This phase is highly critical as it is trying to find identify to reorient its objectives to calibrate the role it has to play in the transformed global world order. Having a question about its relevance and efficacy has been accentuated after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc. Its critics, in fact, said that NAM is buried under the debris of the Berlin Wall, and the exercises of the NAM are no more than flogging on the dead horse. It is perceived that the policy of non-alignment had some utility in the period of cold war bipolarity because its birth was in the cold war in reaction to the stance of certain countries who wanted smaller countries on their side to fight against the other bloc’s ideology. In the wake of the current international system, it is no longer bipolar, and the cold war is finished, so its relevance today is a great question. But whatever the world is - Bipolar, multipolar or unipolar, non-alignment as a foreign policy of the small/weak countries will continue to remain valid.
NAM’s relevancy, although reduced due to the era of Bipolarity, many NAM members associated themselves with both the USA and RUSSIA. India also has a LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement) with the USA and a Friendship Treaty with Russia. Also, unlike other associations of countries, when an attack on one country happens by another country, it has been seen that cohesiveness and support from NAM members lag on multiple occasions. For example, when China attacked India in 1962, other NAM members did not come to the rescue of India. Similarly, NAM has not been able to keep up with the changes in the world order like Globalisation, Populism, Terrorism, Protectionism, etc. Thus, all these reasons coupled with a lack of unity amongst NAM members leads to a reduction in the relevance of NAM.

Opposed to nuclear weapons

Jakarta summit conference’s declaration of 1992 stated that NAM has contributed to ending bipolarity in the world and eliminating the Cold War. Membership of NAM has nearly quadrupled from about 25 states in 1961 to 125 (2018); there is less chance of survival in the age of nuclear proliferation for weapons use as if war happens, it will lead to a disaster of massive proportion. The main demand of NAM was the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons; also, NAM was opposed to nuclear weapons of mass destruction treaties like CTBT, NPT as they are not universal.

NAM & Third World Countries

Also, it takes care of the interests of all Third World Countries. Pursuit of equality in world affairs through pooling the diplomatic resources of Third World states in international forums. Equality here should be understood in political-economic terms. With a Group of 77 (G77 Countries were largely part of NAM), NAM succeeded in keeping Third World country’s issues in front of most UN forums and agencies due to their sheer number. Also, in the UN General Assembly, NAM played a significant role in transferring the permanent seat in the UNSC previously filed by the Republic of China (Taiwan) to mainland China. This can also help India get a UNSC membership. Thus, the major thrust of NAM is the creation of a new world based on rational, democratic, equitable, and non-exploitative inter-state relations.

Priorities & Challenges

NAM’s current priority should be to frame a concrete economic agenda for a just and fair international political-economic order. Recently we have seen that various WTO rules and procedures have failed to provide adequate economic gains to the Third World countries; thus, NAM can play a very instrumental role in reducing prejudice against developing/ least developed countries. Furthermore, NAM can be strengthened by South-South cooperation, which would mean, by and large, a collaboration between and among the NAM countries and defending their interests from economically and technologically superior nations (Mainly developed countries in the Northern hemisphere).
NAM should develop a progressive agenda on the fundamental values of democracy, human rights, and multiculturalism. The preservation and consolidation of democracy throughout its membership is a major challenge. NAM’s spectrum could be further enlarged with the increasing concern in the world about climate change, global emissions, human health concerns, drugs, human trafficking, extremism/ xenophobia, ethnic nationalism, etc.
Non-alignment has not lost any of its sheens; rather, it still plays a prominent role in world politics. It has served a beneficial purpose of protecting and preserving the interest of the Third World countries in the past 5 decades. It is also expected to fulfill its obligations towards Third World countries and South-South cooperation in the future to come.
NAM countries have learned to manoeuvre among them and successfully face the menace of new colonialism sought to be imposed through various WTO rounds. The goals of NAM are not merely to serve the national interest of member states but stands to promote cooperation between NAM countries and the well-being of all humanity along with fulfilling the nation’s interest.
Hence, NAM is still a prominent body to counter exploitation, war, hunger, diseases, and poverty. Last few summits of NAM was not attended by the Indian Prime Minister and many new groups like BRICS and SCO have come into prominence where NAM member use these platforms to raise their concern; still, NAM is relevant till the time the small less developed or developing countries are threatened by the big powers and the UNSC reform of increasing the number of members does not take place. NAM will remain relevant because reforms in international bodies like the IMF, WTO, etc., don’t provide equal status to developing and underdeveloped countries.