What is the Non-Aligned Movement?

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international forum of 120 developing nations that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was formally established at the First Summit held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, from 1-6 September 1961, during the height of the Cold War.

NAM was founded under the leadership of five key statesmen: Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia), Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt), Jawaharlal Nehru (India), Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), and Sukarno (Indonesia). The movement's ideological roots trace back to the Bandung Conference (1955) in Indonesia, where 29 Asian and African nations articulated principles of Afro-Asian solidarity and anti-colonialism.

The NAM's Five Principles (derived from Panchsheel) are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. The First Summit was attended by 25 founding member nations. NAM remains the second-largest grouping of states after the United Nations and continues to advocate for the interests of developing nations.

Key Features

# Feature Details
1 Founded 1-6 September 1961, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
2 Founding Leaders Tito (Yugoslavia), Nehru (India), Nasser (Egypt), Nkrumah (Ghana), Sukarno (Indonesia)
3 Founding Members 25 nations at the First Belgrade Summit
4 Current Membership 120 member states (as of 2024)
5 Precursor Bandung Conference (1955), Indonesia -- Afro-Asian solidarity
6 Five Principles Sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality, peaceful coexistence
7 Cold War Role Refused alignment with either US-led Western bloc or Soviet-led Eastern bloc
8 India's Role Founding member; Nehru was a principal architect; India hosted summit in 1983 (New Delhi)
9 Focus Areas Anti-colonialism, disarmament, economic development, South-South cooperation
10 Post-Cold War Shifted focus to economic globalization, development, and multilateralism

UPSC Exam Corner

Prelims: Key Facts

  • First Summit: Belgrade, 1-6 September 1961
  • Founding members: 25 nations
  • Current members: 120 (second-largest grouping after UN)
  • India's connection: Nehru was a founding leader; Panchsheel principles (1954) influenced NAM
  • Bandung Conference: 1955, Indonesia -- precursor to NAM
  • India hosted NAM Summit: 1983, New Delhi (7th Summit)

Mains: Probable Themes

  1. "Non-alignment was a positive and dynamic concept, not mere neutralism." -- Discuss with reference to Nehru's foreign policy
  2. Analyse the relevance of the Non-Aligned Movement in the post-Cold War era
  3. Examine India's role in the founding and evolution of the NAM
  4. "NAM has lost its raison d'etre after the end of the Cold War." -- Critically evaluate

Sources: Non-Aligned Movement (Wikipedia) | NAM (Britannica) | Belgrade 1961 Conference (Global South Studies) | NAM History (nam.go.ug)