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3. The non-aligned movement

Talking book

Did you know?

The term Third World' was first used during the post-war years to refer to the less economically advanced countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Not all the members of the Non-Aligned Movement were Third-World countries, but most of them were.

At the end of the 1970s, more than 100 countries were considered to be part of the Third World. Almost all of them were former colonies, and 2000 million people lived in them.

R. Palmer and J. Colton
Historia contemporánea,
Akal (Translated)

The Non-Aligned Movement was established at the Belgrade Conference in 1961. It included countries that did not want to join either of the blocs that had emerged after the Second World War. They made up a third bloc of neutral countries that wanted to remain neutral and outside of the bipolar system.

The origin of this movement was directly connected to the process of decolonisation, as the initiative originated with Asian and African nations that had recently gained their independence. In 1955 representatives of these countries met at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia, where they established the principles of the movement and proclaimed their neutral position. Subsequently, some Latin American countries joined the movement, such as Ecuador and Colombia, as well as European countries, such as Yugoslavia.

The Non-Aligned countries shared certain common characteristics.

Politics: they supported national self-determination, as this principle had led to their independence. They also believed that every country should have the right to resolve its own problems without the intervention of other countries. Members of this bloc had different types of government, and they included both democracies and dictatorships.
Military: they did not establish a military organisation and were considered to be neutral. They believed that conflicts should be resolved without resorting to force.
Economy: most members of the Non-Aligned Movement were developing or less-developed countries. Their main objective was to achieve economic growth through cooperation with the other member countries.

The Non-Aligned Movement

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3. The non-aligned movement

Activity 24

Remember

Activity 25

Apply