Non-Aligned Movement

Also: NAM

Definition

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of developing countries that chose not to formally align with either the United States-led or the Soviet-led bloc during the Cold War; founded at the Belgrade summit of 1961, it now has 120 member states and is the largest grouping of states after the United Nations.

Deep-dive lesson: India's Foreign Policy: Principles and Neighbourhood. This page is a quick reference that connects the term across subjects; read the lesson for the full treatment.

Summary card: Non-Aligned Movement. First summit: Belgrade, Yugoslavia, September 1961. Founding leaders: Nehru (India), Tito (Yugoslavia), Nasser (Egypt), Sukarno (Indonesia), Nkrumah (Ghana). Inspired by the Bandung Asian–African Conference, April 1955. Ten Bandung principles; Panchsheel's influence. 120 members; no permanent secretariat; chair rotates with the summit host. India hosted the 7th summit in New Delhi, 1983 — Summary card © UPSCPrep.in

Background and evolution

After the Second World War, many Asian and African countries became independent as the Cold War divided the world into rival blocs. Newly free states feared being drawn into military alliances that would limit their sovereignty and divert resources from development. India under Jawaharlal Nehru argued that independence meant the freedom to judge each issue on its merits, not to follow a bloc.

The Bandung Conference of 1955, attended by 29 Asian and African countries, set out principles of peaceful coexistence and anti-colonialism. In 1961, Tito, Nasser and Nehru took the lead in convening the first conference of non-aligned heads of state in Belgrade, attended by 25 countries. The criteria for membership included an independent foreign policy, support for liberation movements and not being part of a military alliance or bilateral military pact with a great power in the context of great-power conflicts.

Collage of portrait photographs of leaders at the 1961 Belgrade Conference — Leaders at the first Non-Aligned summit, the Belgrade Conference of September 1961. Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Last reviewed: 23 October 2026 · Original UPSCPrep.in content.