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Recent meetings between North Korea and a number of other pariah states signal an attempted re-emergence of the Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM. The global economic slowdown and increasing geopolitical competition will cause weaker countries to unify to combat the negative effects of globalism. NAM countries will be able to use their alliance to gain leverage in negotiations with larger powers.
In the past month, officials from North Korea have held talks in Myanmar and Cuba, while Pyongyang’s second-in-command has recently visited Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. North Korea, according to a July 10 report in the Joongang Ilbo newspaper, is using all available diplomatic channels in the Third World to chair the Non-Aligned Movement conference in 2003.
The increased diplomatic work underlines an attempt to revive the NAM on the international scene and unite developing and isolated countries against globalization and its failure to bring economic prosperity to many. If NAM can be reinvigorated, members will be better able to stay independent of global powers, as they did during the Cold War, and to counter escalating U.S. influence.
Closer ties will not only help improve the economies of some NAM members, but could make them more attractive to investors. Indonesia, for example, which has significant U.S. investment from companies like ExxonMobil, will have a better chance to receive aid and foreign investment despite its political turmoil since it wouldn’t have to follow the strict regulations of organizations like the International Monetary Fund.
Purchasing arms would become easier for NAM members. The members would have a wider variety of choices in where they acquire weapons and in the number they purchase.
The Non-Aligned Movement was launched in 1961 with 25 original members, but it comprises 115 member states today. The group mostly consists of countries not in the Warsaw Pact or NATO, who joined to avoid being a pawn of one or more of the world’s superpowers.
Many of the nations have benefited greatly by refusing to align with a superpower. Over the years, NAM members have used the alliance to gain weapons, money or influence from the superpowers. For instance, Egypt and India both received arms and funds from the U.S. and Russia by dangling the prospect of support, backed by NAM, in front of each.
Yugoslavia remained independent largely due to support from NAM, which countered Russia’s moves to overtake it. Also, during the Cold War, Washington was so intent on keeping Indonesia from becoming a communist state and befriending the Soviet Union that it supported then-President Suharto’s autocratic and corrupt regime.
But in the post-Cold War era, NAM has floundered as the global economy prospered. Developing countries no longer needed to band together for protection. Instead, NAM states sought to gain favor with the United States in order to benefit from its seemingly endless growth. Pariah countries such as North Korea, Myanmar, Cuba, Iran and Libya remained isolated and oppressed by sanctions and embargoes, causing them to cling to the ideals of NAM.
But recent developments have caused NAM countries to reconsider their relationships. The latter 1990s saw the beginning of the global economic slowdown, with globalization and international economic cooperation suddenly becoming a burden rather than an opportunity. The United States maintained its economic influence but forced countries to conform to its own principles – under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund – in order to receive aid.
Moreover, a new form of geopolitical competition surfaced and new global powers emerged. The international political hierarchy changed with Russia’s political transition from communism to democracy and with the opening of China’s economy. Rather than competing with the Soviet Union, the United States took a position as an unopposed power, with China, the European Union, India and Russia existing as global powers on a second, lower level.
The drawbacks of globalization and the establishment of new political players have brought renewed awareness of NAM.
Third-power countries left behind in the changing landscape are increasingly resentful of the United States. In an effort to challenge U.S. dominance and avoid taking a subservient role to the powers in their region, they are beginning to reconsider the possible benefits of NAM membership.
Leading the NAM’s resurgence are the pariah states who never fully integrated into the global economy during the prosperous times, including Cuba, Myanmar and North Korea – all communist or military governments. These NAM leaders have a potentially responsive audience, as the global slowdown has left many governments looking for any chance to improve their economic standing.
North Korea’s recent increase in interaction with other states suggests Pyongyang’s attempts to shore up international support. The meeting between Pyongyang and Myanmar, followed by one with Cuba in North Korea, took place under the guise of military talks. Malaysia, an influential member of NAM, also hosted Cuban leader Fidel Castro in May.
Venezuela will likely prove an early convert to NAM ideals, with President Hugo Chavez promoting a multi-polar alliance including Cuba and Libya unified in opposition to U.S. hegemony.
The Bush administration has reportedly suspended contacts between the U.S. government and Venezuela’s political police due to the growing presence in Caracas of Cuban intelligence officials.
Cambodia and Laos will likely jump on the bandwagon as well, as they have poor economies and their international insignificance compels them to follow their neighbor Vietnam.
If the Non-Aligned Movement can be revived and develop influence, global powers will have to take into account the political support each NAM member gets from the rest of the confederation. One NAM state could sway the opinions of fellow members, threatening global powers’ dealings with lesser states. Should the countries band together once again, they will have the leverage to combat economic colonialism and avoid becoming the minions of regional powers.
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