The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a significant international organization comprising 120 member states that are not formally aligned with any major power bloc. Established on September 1, 1961, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, NAM was created during the Cold War to advance the interests of developing countries against the backdrop of global superpower tensions. It is the second-largest grouping of states worldwide after the United Nations..
NAM's founding was influenced by the Bandung Conference of 1955, where leaders like Josip Broz Tito, Jawaharlal Nehru, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Kwame Nkrumah, and Sukarno laid down its principles. The movement's core objectives, as outlined in Fidel Castro's Havana Declaration of 1979, include promoting national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of non-aligned countries, and opposing imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and foreign aggression..
Today, the countries of NAM represent nearly two-thirds of the UN's members and contain 55% of the world population, mainly from developing nations. The movement has been active in various global issues, including decolonization, disarmament, and opposition to apartheid. Although some members have developed closer ties with major powers over time, the movement continues to advocate for the political, economic, and cultural interests of the developing world..
