NAM is as relevant today as it was to yesteryear

he 17th Summit meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in Venezuela last September is over, done and dusted with.   

As the summit proceeded, one could not be blamed if the lyrics of “Eleanor Rigby” made popular the Beatles “…Eleanor Rigby, died in the Church and was buried along with her name… nobody came…”  Unfortunately that was the story of the 17th NAM summit, nobody came. Well, almost nobody.   

Of NAM’s 120-member states, only ten Heads of State turned up, whereas the 16th Summit in Iran in 2012 drew leaders of 120 countries, including 24 Presidents, 3 Kings, 8 Prime Ministers and 50 Foreign Ministers.  
A sad commentary for a movement, which was at one time courted by the two super powers of the day -- the Capitalist bloc led by the US and the Communist bloc led by the Soviet Union (USSR). It also once provided a platform to newly independent countries. The collective strength of the bloc was a pillar of strength to the so-called ‘Third World Countries’.   

Founded in 1961, the non-aligned group played a key role in the decolonisation process, and led to the attainment of freedom and independence of many countries struggling to break the chains of colonialism. The movement also played an important role in the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa and advocated the cause of the Palestinian people.Throughout its history, the movement played a major role in maintaining world peace.  
One of the basic aims of the movement was to charter a course independent of the protagonists of the Cold War -- an ideological war between the two superpowers. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan began the disintegration of NAM as a power bloc.   

With the breakup of the Soviet Union, and a world dominated by a single super power, NAM seemed to have outlived its founding principles. The more recent unrest in the Middle East after the ‘Arab Spring’, the unilateral Egyptian rapprochement with Israel, the current wars in Syria, Libya and Iraq and the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran -- all prominent members of the Non-Aligned Movement led to a further weakening of the movement. NAM, in fact, should have been the vehicle providing a solution to these issues. Unfortunately its membership was too divided to come up with a common position.  

The position of India too -- one of the founding fathers of NAM -- has caused to a further weakening of the movement. India has been increasingly moving away from non-alignment.While it remains a member, it is a member of the ‘Community of Democracies’, a US-led organisation. It is also a member of the G-20 group of countries, both of which are quite opposed to the principles of NAM.  

NAM today is struggling to find relevance in a world dominated by a single super power. But it must be admitted the Non-Aligned Movement still does provide countries a chance to hold different positions from the Western-led model on issues such as energy, climate change, intellectual property rights and combatting pharmaceutical giants. The NAM still has in its power to block moves by powerful nations’ intent of bullying and preventing developing countries from achieving their full potential as it did in 2012 -- holding its 16th Summit in Teheran -- effectively blocking the isolation of Iran under threat from the US and its allies.   
Today, as during the 1960s, there is a need for a forum, which helps developing States charter, a course independent of the Western model. The issues energy, climate change, intellectual property, combatting pharmaceutical giants all call for solutions.  

We see the emergence of China challenging US military and economic domination. Russia is once again asserting itself as a military power, challenging the hegemony of the US.  The Middle East is ablaze, a result of US-led attempts at regime changes, Afghanistan -- holding a treasure trove on mineral and other natural resources -- is riven by internal conflict by of the presence of foreign forces on its soil.  

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the NAM campaigned for restructuring commercial relations between developed and developing nations; namely the New International Economic Order (NIEO), and the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO). Another initiative was co-operation in the field of communications -- the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool, created in 1975.  
Yes, there is today more than ever before, a need for the Non-Aligned Movement. What NAM lacks today is leadership and a redefinition of its role.