THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT
Ensemble
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was formally established during the meeting held on the Brijuni islands, Yugoslavia in 1956 by the signing of the Declaration of Brijuni by five world leaders including Josip Tito of Yugoslavia, Sukarno of Indonesia, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. The first Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries was held in 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The aims of the movement were derived from the ideas expressed during the Afro-Asian conference in Bandung (1955). Having appeared in the bipolar political climate of the Cold War, the NAM represented the “third way” in international relations. Based on the principles of peaceful co-existence and mutual support, the movement advocated for respect of sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs. The NAM, Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO) and The Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America (OSPAAAL) all collaborated, however, the members of the latter were distinguished by a more radical and less conciliatory attitude towards Western imperialism. The NAM is currently formed by 120 world states.
Bandung Conference
On April 18-24, 1955, leaders from twenty-nine Asian and African countries, most of which were newly independent, gathered in Bandung, Indonesia, for the first large-scale Asian-African Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference. The key organisers of the meeting included Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Burma, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The participants of the conference aimed to promote Afro-Asian solidarity against any form of colonialism and neo-colonialism, as well as to foster economic and cultural cooperation in the regions.
Further Non-Aligned Movement Conferences
