The Non-Aligned Movement: A Struggle for Global Relevance

Abstract

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) forms a powerful bloc in the United Nations and associated technical agencies. The movement was created during the height of the Cold War in response to tension between the Eastern and Western blocs with the goal of buffering NATO and the Warsaw Pact. However, the end of the Cold War did not bring about the end of the NAM – indeed, by some measures, the movement is stronger now than it was during the Cold War. Few researchers have endeavored to explain why this is the case. This thesis examines the puzzling persistence of the NAM, first telling a narrative history of the movement from its inception to the present, then presenting data as evidentiary proof of the NAM’s maintenance of cohesion, and finally analyzing this data and this narrative using international relations theory to explain the maintenance of NAM power. This thesis argues that the Non-Aligned Movement has persisted due to a rise in counterhegemonic ideology among NAM states, combined with pressure from radical NAM hawks and increased institutionalization.