Non-aligned Movement to the Politics - Essay Example

THE RELEVANCE OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT TO THE POLITICS OF THE 21ST CENTURY Introduction This paper attempts to address how relevant the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is to the politics of the 21st century. Addressing this relevance needs scrutiny of the 21st century politics in the global setting, following the discussion of the role of the NAM in the political scenario. Seeing the present global political environment is a necessity in describing how the NAM fares in terms of relevance. There is also a necessity to connect this political condition to the economic progresses of nations actively involved in global politics. As the world continues to trail towards policies that aim to resolve the problems of capitalist overproduction, there is a growing propensity to establish avenues that will resolve it. These avenues are neo-colonialism, liberalization, trade multi-lateral agreements (i.e. GATT-WTO), and securing the cooperation of third world nations in order for their smooth operation. However, the current global order is also characterized by hard-core terrorism, of which the Muslim fundamentalists are culprits, socialist-led movements that rattle the global system, global poverty, and third world underdevelopment. All of these characterize the politics of the 21st century and NAM's relevance vis--vis all these is the concern of this paper. Today's World Politics Today's world politics may be described as turbulent. Turbulent in a sense that problems besetting world imperialism have driven the first world nations to modify certain imperialistic tactics out of a pursuit to dispose effectively their problems of overproduction. The world hegemony has transformed itself into a new pattern, in which although the Cold War has ended for more than fifteen years now, imperialist tactics want to maintain their domination in the world. This is due to the inherent character of the capitalist system in which these states are founded, and the likewise inherent character of the imperialist order to dominate the world economy in the epoch of neo-colonialism. Laying down this position, it is important to link the political schemes of imperialist states with their economic activities since there is a great connection between the two as exemplified by the construct of political economy (Gilpin, 1987). The political pursuits of states in the 21st century are geared towards improving the capitalist market and disentangling themselves from a boom-bust market existence like what Japan has experienced with its Bubble economy during the 90's (Brenner, 2003). This is caused by the very capitalistic character of the system, both locally and globally. The 21st century laissez faire allows industrialized nations to thrive for more lucrative outcomes of globalization, in which all nations, including poor ones, are participants (Bonner, 2004). It may be pointed out that newer and more effective political trends are introduced by the economically leading nations in addressing the boundless problem of economic surpluses, the natural outcomes of unplanned and massive production in the capitalist structure. In resolving this problem, the presence of regional organizations preempts leading nations ion performing unlikely conducts like direct domination, which were the thriving occurrences of the world history in the past (Keohane and Nye, 2004). Regional organization, thus, act like 'world police' that check on the conduct of nations whose 'proper behavior' exemplify their being carriers of democracy. Democracy, being the leading political ideology, has beset a new trend in dealing with world conflicts. Alongside the presence of international organizations that allow nations to become members of the international community, the thriving presence of democracy allows them to bid adieu to the conduct of direct domination prevalent during bygone eras. However, it needs a thorough scrutiny to say that with the new trend of 'world pacification,' only mutual friendship and cooperation exist among states (Spagnoli, 2003). We may rather infer that this so-called mutual cooperation and friendship leads the powerful nations like the G-7 to conduct the best possible means of disposing their problems in production surpluses (Tanner, 2005). The diffusion of 'embedded liberalism' by the United States, which followed after the World War II helped in disseminating a new geopolitics that relies on the concept of interdependence in maintaining the fiction of political sovereignty (Lipshutz, 2000). It has resulted in new global concerns in which world politics of the 21st century are focused on, such as 'sustainability,' 'ecology,' and 'environment and security' (Lipshutz, 2000). We may further that terrorism is an addition to these global concerns. In the 21st century political objective, national autonomy and control are said to be valued above all, and relying on the goodwill of other nations and the proper functioning of the global market is tantamount to courting national disaster (Lipshutz, 2000). This position is an acknowledgment of the political pretense performed by imperialist nations who are cloaked in the classic notions of friendship and cooperation on less-economically stable states (Feste, 2003). Lipshutz states that "it is no coincidence that the best-known proponents of geopolitics are citizens of great powers - United States, Britain, Germany - who seek to legitimize international expansion and control through naturalized ideological covers." Naturalized geopolitics had divided the world into imperialistic states and colonized peoples in which "biological needs" for territory, resources, and absorption of surpluses are sought. The 21st century political scenario may be seen as a turbulent period with nations fighting against terrorism (Lorimer and Holmes, 2007). Some analysts interpret it as an imperialist war against a potential grabber of world power, in which all ideologies, not just religious fundamentalism, are involved (Brantlinger, 1993). This would mean involving the most eminent enemy of world imperialism, which is socialism, and the people's war against imperialism organized around the world. The creation of a sense of exceptional grievance and victim-hood, the demonization and dehumanization of the enemy "other," the manufacture of a catastrophic danger that demands immediate and forceful action, and the justification and legitimization of preventive counter-violence are the concerns of the politics of nations nowadays (Jackson, 2005). These messages, primarily proliferated by world powers led by the United States, are transcribed to the media, to the university lecture halls and churches, through laws, institutional practices, and in daily conversations persuading people that the world should unite against terrorism and should be justified for taking forceful and violent steps in going to war against it (Jackson, 2005). In the present political global scenario, the war on terrorism, like other forms of political violence, is a totalizing discourse, which has been artificially created to make people - who would otherwise be circumscribed by normal social codes of non-violence -be persuaded to be willing participants in trailing the path towards counter-terrorist violence (Jackson, 2005). It is ironic that terrorism, a newly introduced concept of legislation, fits the very need of imperialist states to end totally the remnants of anti-imperialist movements. Paradoxically, religious fundamentalism, the dogma carried out by the Muslim terrorists, is not one that intends to end politically the global control of imperialism on third world states. Communism still pervades as the leading rival of imperialism in world domination, and its transitory system - socialism - continues to reap anti-imperialist struggles in the global arena (Jackson, 2005). The security-threatening movements of Muslim terrorists are therefore a timely effort for leading nations in their masquerade for counter-imperialist violence. In much the same manner that they want to end the security threat of fundamentalists, it is succinctly seen that declaring a war against terrorism is hitting two birds in one stone. It is surprising to know that democratic states like the United States and Britain, which pride themselves on the very essence of democracy, would lead a massive campaign for anti-terrorist violence that involves destructive military assaults on two of the world's poorest countries (Afghanistan and Iraq), political assassinations, torture of prisoners, and violence of deeply cherished human rights (Jackson, 2005). Political and military violence are how the world today is characterized. The internal wars in Rwanda and Bosnia point out to the construction of political violence, which in particular, is the war-based discourse of political leaders. The discursive strategies employed by the United States and Britain in countering terrorism is the same as the strategies employed by the leaders of Bosnia and Rwanda in the conflicts similar to theirs (Jackson, 2005). It is interesting to note that since these nations pride so much on democracy, of which the United States is the "Father," there is a strong necessity to involve the peoples of the world in the counter-terrorist undertaking in such manner that this undertaking shall appear as a majority compliance. Studying it in a leftist viewpoint, the world powers are only able to find a strategic scheme through the timely launch of terrorist attacks on how they can best pin down their greatest enemy - the communist movement - which continues to thrive in both ideology and massive struggle (Aronowitz, 2003). The economic character of imperialist nations, which is founded on capitalist market and liberalization, is said to exploit not only the working class of their own domains, but also of the world. The antonymous notions of private ownership (capitalism) and state ownership (socialism) continue to build repulsion between the capitalist social system on one hand, and the socialist social system on the other hand. This continues conflict between imperialist states and socialist movements, also interpreted as a global broadening of the class conflict, which are the main enemies in the present political dome, is still the focal point of the 21st political scenario. The War on Terrorism is able to out-stage this focal point, of which it is able to identify socialist stances as terroristic as well, maximizing the surge of global terrorism towards the advantages of powerful nations against the notion of socialism and communism (Aubrey, 2004). The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) The non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a movement of 118 members that represent the interests and priorities of developing countries. It has its origin in the Asia-Africa Conference in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia (The Non-Aligned Movement: Description and History. Retrieved on July 29, 2008). The Movement aims to create an independent path in world politics in which member states will not serve as pawns in the struggle of the major powers against each other. Its founding members were outstanding leaders of the last century, namely, Sukarno of Indonesia, Nehru of India, Nkrumah of Ghana, Nasser of Egypt, Tito of Yugoslavia, and Srimavo Bandaranayake of Sri Lanka (Samat, 2008). It contains more than 55 percent of the world population and 61 percent of the members of the United Nations (Samat, 2008). The inception of NAM has been a result of the global tension between two super powers during the Cold War. Three basic elements influence the approaches of the Movement to international issues: the right of independent judgment, the struggle against imperialism and neocolonialism, and the use of moderation in its relations with big powers (The Non-Aligned Movement: Description and History. Retrieved on July 29, 2008). At present, the Movement is not only concerned with the mentioned elements but also with the restructuring of the international economic order. As part of the rivalry between the great powers during the Cold War, several economic projects were set up in developing countries, which suffered due to quest for influence. In the succeeding years, the emphasis of the NAM shifted from political issues towards advocacy for solutions of global economic problems and other related problems. The practice of a rotating chair was created out of the recognition that the Movement would be best served if it operated without a formal constitution and permanent secretariat. When the Movement finally rotates its Chair, the Summit Conferences are the occasions that host it. The responsibility of the administrative management of the Movement is assumed by the Foreign Ministry and Permanent Mission in New York (The Non-Aligned Movement: Description and History. Retrieved on July 29, 2008). The challenges that the Movement meets include the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment, securing peace and stability, and restructuring power, which can be undertaken within the global context (Mbeki, 2004). The manner in which global power is exercised affects the matters that the Movement has to fulfill. Part of this is answering the debate about multilateralism and unilateralism. The NAM undertakes the challenges posed by poverty and underdevelopment, as well as peace and stability within the context of cooperation (Mbeki, 2004). The Relevance of Non-Aligned Movement in the 21st Century Politics The Non-Aligned Movement is an organization concerned with the eradication of global poverty and underdevelopment. The political instability experienced by countries with regard to these issues challenges the Movement, specifically on showing off its relevance in the 21st century politics. The Movement may be considered very relevant in the 21st century political scenario, in which nations are at war with one another but in a modified form (Katzenstein, et al., 1998). The modification of global conflicts sets a pretext on the part of powerful states to promote annihilation of not only global terrorism, but also of other forms of obstruction to imperialist domination. This leads to global security problems and justified wars in the context of democracy, freedom, human rights, and other concepts democratically attached to the new war trends. The counter-violence that imperialist nations pursue is a "mutated justified war" in which indiscriminate attacks affect innocent people like women, children, and the elderly (Samat, 2005). The effect is not only a security problem, but also poverty and a shortening food security, which are indirect outcomes of the conflict. Since the NAM expressed in its objectives its fervent concern with the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment, securing peace and stability, and restructuring power, its relevance in the 21st century politics can be addressed through these goals. The non-aligned intentions of NAM in participating in global political unrest, which results in these conditions provide a check-and-balance lookout on untoward conducts of nations, which is seemingly misaligned from their supposed conviction. In other words, the NAM, just like other regional and international organizations such as the United Nations, serve as a moralistic police that reminds nations of proper behavior and conduct of affairs in dealing with conflicts. It must be however noted that the NAM involves itself with the outcomes of imperialist stances such as global poverty, underdevelopment, and threat to global security than initiating advocacies against imperialist domination, which causes all these concerns (Narain Roy, 1999). The lack of focus on the root causes of underdevelopment, economic dependency, and poverty is due to the Movement's own interpretation of these global problems, not connected at all to world imperialism. Thus, the resolution to these problems are suggested according to the local policies of each state, and not read as a completely unified effect of imperialistic and neocolonial stances. It does not however mean that the NAM would have no purpose in sweeping the problematic dust from the political grounds. Even though no such actions are expected from the NAM as taking radical steps against world imperialism and advocating against 21st century laissez faire in order to address truly the mentioned problems, NAM can still contribute in global policing. This is however not the same as legally entertaining international cases of conflict character since the NAM in the first place possesses no formal constitution, but being an advocate against world domination, underdevelopment, and global poverty is one effective crucial stance. Global poverty and lack of food security had been a long-wrestled problem of all nations. The NAM, along with other non-profit international organizations, helps in spreading advocacies against this mishap, consequently creating a world of involved citizens. However, due to lack of permanent Secretariat and a formal constitution, we may infer that the position of NAM in addressing seriously the problems about poverty, underdevelopment, and lack of global security is presently not at all solid and well grounded as in the case of the United Nations. Its name, being non-aligned however gives a notion of non-partisanship, obtained from an earlier objective of promoting non-leaning to either superpower during the Cold War. However, after the world became unipolar with the US emerging as the lone superpower by the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the NAM also lost its importance as a pulsating political force (Samat, 2005). With the United States subjugating third world countries like Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine after the disentanglement of the Soviet Union, the NAM had lost its vibrancy as well. Its active political color with an intention to redirect the political course in the world arena has been discolored by its inactivity and passive stances in both the past and the present. The recent visit of Iranian President Ahmadinejad to three vital south Asian countries who are also members of the Non-Aligned Movement such as Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, is seen as a precursor to Iran's wish of reviving the NAM (Samat, 2005). This is alongside strengthening the anti-US force and advocating for bringing political stability and peace to the conflict zones. This stance might not pose a challenge to the United States or the west, but it is a means of finding an alternate route to the so-called trail that the West has forced on poor nations (Samat, 2005). These moves, which Iran has initiated, serve as a forerunner for a potential Asian superiority, and the 21st century is one in which Asia may be seen as dominating its own region and is empowered in international policies. The Non-Aligned Movement is seen to contribute largely to this vision (Samat, 2005). It may be said that NAM's inactivity has taken a backseat as not having made a say on how the US strength as a world power has come a long way, furthering political and military influences in the invasion of Iraq on cooked-up intelligence in the absence of UN sanctions. It had also showed its political strength as a hegemonic force by attacking Afghanistan without any evidence that Osama Bin Laden was indeed involved in the 9/11 attack, providing aid to Israel in imposing a Holocaust on Palestine, attempting to overthrow the government established by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, and engaging in torture at Abu Gharib and Guantanamo(Samat, 2005). A world force through an international organization like the Non-Aligned Movement with a grouping of 118 nations containing 55 percent of the word population and 61 percent UN members can provide resistance to the imperialist stances of the United States and EU nations. It is apparent that the UN, whose primary members are first world nations, became passive in implementing the objectives of its charter pertaining to respect for human rights. Reviving the NAM would mean saving the oppressed, poverty stricken people of the world whose conditions were made severe by anti-terrorist violence and wars (Samat, 2005). The positions that NAM will extend in dealing with brazen political advances undertaken by the powerful states are expected to slow down if not to totally silence them. The Non-Aligned Movement in this case, will act as a counter-measure advocacy in case powerful nations exceed in pursuing their political influences in different regions (Vijay, 2005). On the other hand, the counter-measure advocacy of NAM may serve as weaponry of anti-US and EU sentiments led by Asian countries and their prominent leaders whose intention is to prevent the United States and Britain from furthering their political and military positions, marked by counter-terrorist violence. In this case, we may see the Non-Aligned Movement as a venue for staging anti-imperialist stances, whose leading Asian nations rely on its populous membership, which is indeed strategic. The non-partisan stance of NAM will then take a new pattern by its own utilization of assailing the thoughtless actions of powerful nations regarding counter-terrorist violence and addressing deliberately their aggressive movements. With Iran leading the revival of NAM, the attempt may be given a political color. On the other hand, if regional and international organizations are examined closely, one may come up with a conclusion that these regional and international organizations are maneuvered and co-piloted by powerful nations like the UN, ILO, WTO, NATO, OSCE, WB, and so on. Hence, non-partisanship and neutrality in dealing with global politics is a difficult, if not an impossible undertaking. In the same manner, the NAM operates according to how world issues are addressed by the very nations that compose a regional or international organization, and since NAM's leading forces are predominantly south Asian nations, the same applies to how it shall maneuver the organization. The NAM would be able to address two main functions: advocating for its objectives against poverty, underdevelopment, and security problems, and acting for the benefit of the nations that lead and pursue it. In this case, we can see NAM playing a potential active role of being identified with nations in one end against US and the West, utilizing the political machineries that it offers as an international, non-profit organization with relevant objectives that address world issues. With NAM playing a pivotal turn from being an advocate of non-alignment to superpowers during the Cold War, its revival is seen as the exact opposite of this non-alignment while Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, India, and the rest of the so-called politically "marginalized nations" utilize it in taking political posture against the West (Lundborg, 2003). The NAM becomes a personification of a clear battle between imperialist nations in one hand, and anti-imperialist ones on the other hand. Thus, its original position in its conception of not taking sides with the superpowers becomes bleak in case this scenario happens. We may posit that the relevance of NAM in the politics of the 21st century is presently not the same as its relevance during its active stances in support of its objectives during the Cold War. It has positioned itself in clear non-alignment during those times, of which the two superpowers -US and USSR - were considered the cause of the existence of a dreary global order. This relevance has taken a different detour when the Cold War was over and the bipolar global structure became unipolar, caused as such by the United States (Ty, 1992). On the other hand, the original advocacies of the NAM are clear notions of its relevance in a century of global poverty, threatening of food security, terrorism, conflicts, and war. It is no longer a necessity to debate upon whether these items are direct impacts of a global political order, since it is apparent that they are. What nations, regional and international organizations must concern themselves about is how to eliminate these impacts as a global concern. Moreover, scrutinizing the causes of these impacts, which would lead us to global imperialism, will aid in expediting the needed solutions for these global concerns. However, ending imperialism is much more difficult than resolving the problems of food security, global poverty, or third world underdevelopment. The contemplated revival of NAM by Iran produces notions of decelerated movements by the United States and Britain, of which counter-terrorism schemes may be taken in a judicious, well thought-out actions, unlike the thoughtless U. S. bombing attacks and careless use of military forces that killed innocent civilians in Afghanistan (Edwards, 2002), Pakistan, and Iraq (Bergen, 2007). However, it must be noted that it is not only the counter-insurgency violence that NAM should be concerned about, but world terrorism itself. Its aim of promoting global security fits this concern, alongside campaigns against global poverty, underdevelopment, and food non-security. These purposes consider NAM a relevant participant in the 21st century global politics. Conclusion The relevance of the Non-Aligned Movement is seen in its potential in shaking the boat of imperialist-dominated world who leads the war against terrorism. Despite world terrorism causing much turmoil among nations and peoples, the counter-terrorist violence that do not discriminate the real terrorists from innocent civilians adopted by powerful nations like US and Britain add to world hysterics and distraught. The objectives of the NAM since its inception are dependable avenues that may be considered in reassessing these stances. World terrorism is not the only problem faced by the 21st century politics but also how the world is structured according to the economic demands of world imperialism, causing significant impacts to third world economies, such as underdevelopment, third world dependency, and poverty. The NAM is concerned with these impacts, but the root cause of their existence and prevalence among poor nations must also be reconsidered. References Aubrey, S. (2004) The new dimension of international terrorism. VDF Hochshulverfag AG an der ETH, Zurich. Aronowitz, S. (2003) Implicating empire: globalization and resistance in the 21st century world order. Basic Books. ISBN:0465004946 Bergen, P. (2007) The Iraq Effect: the war in Iraq and its impact on the War on Terrorism. New America Foundation. 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