Non – Alignment : –
🔹 Non – alignment is the policy of staying away from alliance and praising or criticizing the works done by alliance without any discrimination.
🔹 The countries which adopted the principle of non – alignment are free to adopt their national or international policies. They are not under any pressure for adopting policy of any alliance.
Founders of non – aligned movement ( NAM ) and their countries are : –
| Founding Member Countries | Founding leaders of NAM |
|---|---|
| Pt . Jawaharlal Nehru | India |
| Mr. Josip Broz Tito | Yugoslavia |
| Dr. Sukrano | Indonesia |
| Mr. Kwame Nkrumo | Ghana |
| Col. Gamal Abdel Naseer | Egypt |
Core objectives of non – aligned movement : –
🔹 To follow free and independent foreign policies instead of following that of other countries.
🔹 To ensure independence of colonies of United Nations and to give support to dependent people on the issue of full authorities , rights and self – decisiveness.
🔹 Support to maintain a distance from allied politics and treaties and to follow a free and independent foreign policy by maintaining a distance from both the blocs , America and USSR.
🔹 To reduce tension between international relations , to frame a new international economic system based on justice and independence and to ensure appropriate participation of developing countries.
Policies of non – aligned movement ( NAM ) : –
🔹 To contribute in establishment of world peace by acting as a mediator in international affairs.
🔹 To contribute in the development of newly de – colonised countries which were backward and least developed.
🔹 To gain economical , financial , technical and scientific assistance by maintaining a friendly relationship with developed countries by staying away from the arena of cold war.
🔹 To improve global system by insisting on establishment of a new international economic development in developed countries of the world.
🔹 To improve economic condition as soon as possible by staying away from competition over arms & weapons.
🔹 To oppose the policy of imperialism and discrimination based on colour.
Main contribution of the Non – Aligned Movement to the newly independent countries : –
🔹 Provided a third option of not joining the Cold War politics.
🔹 Newly independent countries were able to take international decisions and stances that served their interests.
🔹 They were able to balance both the super powers.
🔹 They were able to preserve their sovereignty and independence.
First non – aligned summit : –
🔹 The first non – aligned summit was held at Yugoslavia’s capital Belgrade in 1961. This summit was attended by 25 member states and supervisors of three other states .
🔹 It emphasized on the importance of non – alliance for world peace. An appeal was done to Soviet Union and America to stop nuclear tests.
🔹 Following elements were also determined of non – alliance : –
- Assertion of following independent foreign policy.
- Opposition of imperialism and colonialism.
- Being independent from any military camp.
- No military treaty from Soviet Union or America.
- Absence of any military troop from the land of that country.
18th Non – Aligned Summit : –
🔹 The 18th Summit of the Non – Aligned Movement was held on October 25-26 , 2019 in Baku , Azerbaijan.
🔹 NAM online summit was held in May 2020 to discuss the response to the Covid – 19 crisis hosted by the President of Azerbaijan . Terrorism , reforms in UNO , global warming , refugee crisis were also the points of discussion.
🔹 Presently , 120 countries are its member states , 20 observer countries and 10 international observer organisations.
Debate ragarding India’s stand of Non Alignment during the cold war era : –
🔹 India’s non – alignment was decribed as ‘ unprincipled ‘ because India often refused to take a firm stand on crucial international issues as it involved i taking sides.
🔹 It is suggested that India was ” inconsistent ” and involved in contradictory matters , e.g : – India signed a treaty of friendship in August 1971 with USSR for 20 years . Some observers considered that India had virtually joined the Soviet alliance system . the world ‘ Socialist ‘ was added in the preamble at the behest of the USSR . ( 42nd Amendment 1976 )
🔹 NAM has failed in recent times to prevent the US invasion of democratic countries like Iraq and Afghanistan , where civilians are also killed , as it became an arena of conflict for the superpowers
New International Economic Order ( NIEO ) : –
🔹 The challenge for the newly non – aligned / decolonised countries was to become more developed economically and to lift their people out of poverty.
🔹 These countries were categorised as the Least Developed Countries ( LDCs ). Thus , without economic development , the countries would remain dependent on the sustanined or richer countries.
🔹 NIEO is a set of proposals advocated by developing countries to end economic colonialism and dependency through a new Interdependent economy.
🔹 NIEO initiative faded in 1980 , mainly because of the stiff opposition from the developed countries who acted as a united group while the non – aligned countries struggled to maintain their unity in the face of this opposition.
India and the Cold War : –
🔹 As a leader of NAM the response of India to the ongoing Cold War , was two – fold.
🔹 Firstly , it took particular care in staying away from the two alliances. Secondly , it raised it voice against the newly decolonised countries becoming part of these alliances.
🔹 Non – alignment allowed India to take international decisions and stances that served its interests rather than the interests of the super – powers and their allies.
🔹 India’s Non – alignment policy was criticised as being unprincipled and it is suggested that India was inconsistent and took contradictory postures.
Arms control : –
🔹 Starting in the 1960s , the two sides signed three significant agreements within a decade. These were the Limited Test Ban Treaty , Nuclear Non – Proliferation Treaty and the Anti – Ballistic Missile Treaty.
India refused to sign NPT : –
🔹 India has refused to sign NPT as it aims at non proliferation ( stopping spread of nuclear weapons ) selectively and is applicable only for the non – nuclear powers like India , Israel , South Sudan , Pakistan . It safeguards the monopoly of the existing five nuclear powers.
🔹 India feels NPT is discriminatory. There is also no clause in it to further stop proliferation / increase of weapons by these five countries. They can acquire weapons but other countries cannot. India believes that there is a need for a total disarmament and safe destruction of nuclear weapons by all countries.
Arm control treaties : –
🔹 Various important treaties were signed between USSR and America to limit the spread of nuclear weapons after disintegration of Soviet Union from 1945 to 1991. Those treaties are as follows : –
🔸 ( 1 ) Limited Test Ban Treaty ( LTBT ) : – This treaty banned nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere , in outer space and under water. It was signed by the US , UK and USSR in Moscow on 5 August , 1963. It entered into force on 10 October 1963.
🔸 ( 2 ) Nuclear Non – proliferation Treaty ( NPT ) : – This treaty was signed in Washington , London and Moscow on 1 July , 1968 at the same time and came into force on 5 March 1970. This treaty was extended indefinitely in 1995. It states that on 1 January , 1967 , America , USSR ( later Russia ) , Britain , France and China are five nuclear weapon states. As a result , it allowed only the nuclear weapon states to have nuclear weapons and stopped others from acquiring them.
🔸 ( 3 ) Strategic Arms Limitation Talks I ( SALT – I ) : – The first round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks began in November 1969 on a high level at America and USSR. After long conversation of two and half years , the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and the US President Richard Nixon signed the following in Moscow :
- ( i ) Treaty on the limitation of Anti – Ballistic Missile System ( ABM Treaty ) .
- ( ii ) Interim Agreement on the limitation of strategic offensive arms.
🔹 These two agreements or treaties were signed on 3 October , 1972.
🔸 ( 4 ) Strategic Arms Limitation Talks – II ( SALT – II ) : – After the above treaties came into force , second round was started immediately between the two superpowers. The Us President Jimmy Carter and the soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the treaty on the limitation of strategic offensive arms in Vienna on 18 June , 1979.
🔸 ( 5 ) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I ( Start – I ) : – This treaty was signed by the USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and the US President George ( Senior ). This treaty aims at the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.
🔸 ( 6 ) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II ( Start – II ) : – This treaty was signed by the Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the US President George Bush ( Senior ) on the reduction and limitation of strategic – offensive arms in Moscow on 3rd January , 1983.
Related Chapters
The Cold War Era ( Deleted )
The End of Bipolarity
US Hegemony in World Politics ( Deleted )
Contemporary Centres of Power
Contemporary South Asia
International Organisations
Security in the Contemporary World
Environment and Natural Resources
Globalisation