{"id":76098,"date":"2022-10-26T12:30:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T01:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=76098"},"modified":"2022-10-26T11:57:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T00:57:54","slug":"in-defence-of-non-alignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/in-defence-of-non-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"In defence of non-alignment"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Critics<\/a> of geopolitical non-alignment have long characterised it as a flawed and doomed policy, and in the wake of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, non-alignment is rapidly falling out of favour. After all, Ukraine was invaded because it was not a member of NATO, causing Sweden and Finland to abandon<\/a> their long-held neutrality and apply to join the alliance.<\/p>\n

But non-alignment, or the refusal to ally with any major power unconditionally, may be necessary to restrain the world\u2019s superpowers. Otherwise, their increasing nationalism could lead to a global order antithetical to the interests of all other countries.<\/p>\n

Economic nationalism is on the rise among the world\u2019s major superpowers. A 2019 report<\/a> by the Peterson Institute for International Economics highlighted then-US President Donald Trump\u2019s advocacy of protectionism, restrictions on inward foreign investment and immigration, and rejection of multilateral constraints. Previously, the United States offered allies its commitment to a rules-based international order and shared security, which President Joe Biden\u2019s administration<\/a> seeks to restore. But Trump\u2019s \u2018America first<\/a>\u2019 narrative has changed that offer, and many Republican candidates in November\u2019s midterm elections are vowing to weaken<\/a> it further.<\/p>\n

China is also reshaping its offer to potential allies. Ten years ago, China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative<\/a> promised partner countries generous funding for infrastructure and development projects as Chinese policymakers created a powerful network of economic, financial, political and security relations across the world. Those investments are now being scaled back<\/a> as China takes a harder-nosed commercial approach to overseas ventures.<\/p>\n

Likewise, just six years ago, President Xi Jinping pledged support<\/a> for a global rules-based order. At the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s 20th national congress this month, he declared<\/a> that profound changes in the international landscape and external attempts to \u2018blackmail, contain and blockade\u2019 China mean that \u2018we have to put our national interests<\/a> first\u2019.<\/p>\n

The new nationalism of superpowers forces other countries to make some hard choices. During the Cold War, aligning with the US enabled Western European countries to benefit from open trade and rebuild their economies and democratic systems. But other countries derived no such benefits and responded to the Cold War accordingly. The Non-Aligned Movement was founded<\/a> in 1961, championed by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Indonesian President Sukarno and Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.<\/p>\n

Non-alignment during the Cold War never meant not taking sides. Within a year of founding NAM, Nehru turned<\/a> to the US for assistance in the Sino-Indian War. A decade later, Nehru\u2019s daughter, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, turned to the Soviet Union for help<\/a>. Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat famously dumped<\/a> the Soviets for the Americans in the early 1970s. To a degree, non-alignment enables some countries to pit one side against the other for investments, aid, arms purchases and security arrangements.<\/p>\n

It also enables countries to hold superpowers to account. Non-aligned Singapore, for example, refused<\/a> to support Indonesia\u2019s invasion of East Timor in 1975, opposed the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, and has condemned Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. The countries comprising the Organization of American States<\/a> have condemned<\/a> Russia\u2019s invasion and suspended its observer status. But they have not joined the US-led sanctions against Russia, citing the effects on people in Cuba and Venezuela. Kenya voted to condemn<\/a> Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in the UN General Assembly, but a month later abstained<\/a> from the vote to remove Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. Kenyan Ambassador Martin Kimani reminded the world<\/a> that the West had suspended Libya from the council as a precursor to invading the country, with disastrous consequences for Libya\u2019s neighbours.<\/p>\n

Non-alignment also enables smaller countries to advance their values and interests without tethering themselves unconditionally to a superpower\u2019s international policies and preferences. For the superpowers, this is challenging. Blind allegiance is more comfortable and allows them to project greater power.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s emerging nationalism requires economic self-reliance, which can be difficult to achieve after decades of actively participating in global markets. To strengthen its financial resilience, India has accumulated more than US$500 billion<\/a> in foreign-exchange reserves, while Brazil increased its reserves to more than US$300 billion. Another way to strengthen resilience is to reduce foreign debt. In the mid-2000s, 46% of Indonesia\u2019s public debt and 83% of Chile\u2019s, was denominated in foreign currencies. By last year, Indonesia and Chile had cut this share to 23% and 32%, respectively.<\/p>\n

But boosting self-reliance can be difficult even for wealthy countries. For example, a recent report by the European Council on Foreign Relations argues that the European Union must improve<\/a> its technological capabilities if it wishes to act according to its values \u2018without being bullied by others\u2019. With such considerations in mind, the EU has already taken steps towards its goal of greater strategic autonomy by establishing the European Battery Alliance<\/a>, which aims to develop a competitive and sustainable battery value chain on the continent.<\/p>\n

But there is still a long way to go. The global power balance is shifting as the US\u2013China rivalry escalates. Both superpowers face domestic political challenges that could affect their foreign policies. In the meantime, other countries should not be faulted for pursuing non-alignment to achieve self-reliance. Perhaps resisting the pull of the major superpowers can help to ensure a more equitable world order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Critics of geopolitical non-alignment have long characterised it as a flawed and doomed policy, and in the wake of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, non-alignment is rapidly falling out of favour. After all, Ukraine was invaded …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":522,"featured_media":76100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[40,2324,1932,2397],"class_list":["post-76098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-alliance-2","tag-non-alignment","tag-the-west","tag-us-alliances"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn defence of non-alignment | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/in-defence-of-non-alignment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In defence of non-alignment | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Critics of geopolitical non-alignment have long characterised it as a flawed and doomed policy, and in the wake of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, non-alignment is rapidly falling out of favour. 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