The Non-Aligned States and the Cold

War

After WWII, many African, Asian, South American and Middle Eastern countries

were trying hard to resist colonialism and imperialism.

During the Cold War, the “Non-Aligned” countries were those that rejected alliances and ties with either superpower.

Many of these countries were former colonies.

During the Cold War NAM would try to put pressure on both superpowers.They feared that the Cold War could lead to a nuclear war.

They saw both the US and USSR guilty of imperialism.

One main reason for their unity was to resist imperialists and give support to other anti-imperialists movements around the world.

Origins of NAMTito of Yugoslavia was the grand father of the NAM.Tito was a communist, but did not want the red army to occupy his country.Tito accepted money from the US after WWII and the US 6th fleet was just off the coast of Yugoslavia.

Soviet Union backed off.

US Naval Fleet locations.

Tito didn’t want to get too close to the USA because he feared they’d try and turn him into a Capitalist. Tito had a poor relationship with Stalin.Khrushchev treated Tito as an equal.

There are other roads to Communism.

India’s Jawaharal Nehru was another founding member.America supported Pakistan’s partition.

Jawaharal wanted to get back at the US without getting close to the Soviet Union.

China would also join NAM.

Didn’t want to take sides with US or USSR.

China wanted to be the leader of former colonial states.

Thought it could spread its interpretation of Marxism on other countries.

Zhou-EN-Lai was China’s #2 man. Premier.

Egypt’s Nasser was another founding member.

Nasser attempted to exploit the superpowers during the cold war.

He got the Americans to help him build the Aswan Dam Project.Then decided to move towards the USSR by buying arms from Czechoslovakia.

Nasser would emerge as the winner during the Suez Crisis as Egypt would regain control of the canal. UN Peacekeepers would be used.

The Non-aligned movement demonstrated that the super powers could not always bully the smaller states and get what they wanted.

In the 1960’s, more colonies became countries and thus NAM membership increased.

- Encourage solidarity (unity) of its members- Warn the superpowers against spreading the Cold War - Apply pressure against using war to settle disputes - Stop imperialism- Stand committed to restructuring the world economic order.

The UN General assembly became influenced by NAM

The NAM countries would often try to lecture the superpowers.

- During the Berlin crisis in 1961, they sent a letter to Kennedy and Khrushchev warning them against a nuclear war and urged to solve the crisis peacefully.

- No evidence to suggest that the letters made any difference, but it showed that NAM was unified.

NAM would eventually change the balance of power at the UN away from the United States.

The NAM movement suffered a huge setback in 1962.

- The SINO-Indian War (two NAM members)- India moved closer to the Soviets and the Americans

By the end of the 60’s,almost all of its founding members had died.

Nasser 1970 NehruMany governments had been overthrown or replaced by dictatorships.

Many NAM members had close ties with the Soviet Union.

Cuba Egypt

Many states chose to align with the Soviet Union as they needed economic development and the Soviets promised aid and support.

Vietnam Iraq

In 1979, Castro suggested that all NAM members form an alliance with the USSR.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

Many countries supported the invasion, other, Muslim countries did not.

The Non-Aligned Movement was supposed to be non-aligned with either Russia or America. But when countries like Cuba and Vietnam joined it which clearly aligned to the Soviet Union, and countries like Singapore would plead as it were the Western cause, it began to look less like a non-aligned movement than something else.

During the 1980’s, NAM fell apart as many countries were headed in opposite directions.

- South East Asia’s economy was developing rapidly, much faster than many African and Latin American countries. - Ethnic and Religious differences caused tensions between many countries in the Middle East, and the Balkans which were more important than ideological ones.

- Political Islam was also on the Rise (Iran, Afghanistan)

- Countries still wanted to be members and by 2000, membership was at 113.

With the Cold War over, does NAM have any importance?

It was a movement that basically set itself up as something which it is not, rather than something that which it is. In other words, it was meant not to be associated with Washington or Moscow. It is very much a child of the Cold War.

* Define and analyze the importance of two of the following…

Previous IB History Cold War Exam Questions. (2009)

a) The formation of NATO

b) The Warsaw Pact c) Non-Alignment

d) detente

* Explain the meaning of two of the following and show how each affected the development of the Cold War.

a) containment

b) brinkmanship

c) non-alignment

d) detente

(2008)

* Assess the importance in the development of the cold war of two of the following… (1999)

a) Berlin

b) Yalta Conference

c) Arms Race

d) Non-alignment

c) SEATO