Tuesday 9 August 2016

Who are the members of the non-aligned movement?

The non-aligned movement (NAM) first emerged as a concept during the Bandung Conference (1955) in Indonesia, held by leaders from across Africa and Asia in the midst of the growing Cold War (and decolonization). The objectives of the movement developed out of a concern for remaining independent of proxy use by the ideologically bi-polar powers -- the US and Soviet Union -- at bat for attention (legitimacy and expansion) across the stages of the world. By 1961, the NAM held their first conference in Cairo, Egypt.

In 2015, NAM celebrated their 60th anniversary. There are currently 120 members, including the following: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.


The question is, if the Cold War is over (and has been since 1991), what is the relevance of NAM? For many members and commentators alike NAM is in need of adapting to the times. However, for some, the direction should be an embracement of its more general goals of challenging neo-colonialism and imperialism, particularly Western imperialism. For others, the direction should be toward reorienting from a political middle man to an economic middle man, where developed countries work with developing countries without the latter alienating the former. In the conference that celebrated their 60th year of existence, the matters that rose to the greatest importance were nuclear disarmament, Israeli occupation of Palestine, and control of global financial markets by the US dollar.

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