International
Relations-PSC 201
VU
LESSON
19
NON-ALIGNMENT
MOVEMENT (CONTINUED FROM LECTURE
18)
NAM's
Role in International
Relations
NAM
played a limited role in
supporting the OPEC price
rise, in the formation of the United
Nations
Conference
on Trade and Development, the
formation of the Group of 77 and
articulating the New
International
Economic Order.
NAM
has grown in size and
can potentially be very influential
but it has been unable to
fulfill its lofty
objectives
and thus stands discredited.
Most of the member states,
which are a part of it, do
not use the
NAW
platform to resolve disputes
nor do they contribute much
effort to making it more
effective.
Yet
the need for peaceful
coexistence and better North-South
relations makes the need for NAM
even
more
urgent with its visionary blend of
idealism and realism.
Criticism
of NAM
NAM
has failed to help promote
peace and many of its
members have been involved
in bloody internal
and
external
violence (for example the civil
war in Cambodia, or the war
between Iran and
Iraq).
NAM
has also been unable to
bear on lingering disputes
like the ME conflict and the
problems in Kashmir
causing
tensions between Pakistan
and India and in the Cyprus
which is resulting in tensions
between
Turkey
and Greece.
There
is a dichotomy between what NAM leaders
preach and practice; often
they have adopted stances in
the
UN at variance with consensus developed
in NAM.
NAM
and Pakistan
Pakistan
could not join NAM due to
its membership in CENTO and
SEATO. However by the
1970s,
Pakistan
realized the need for a broader
approach to IR than seeking
support of the US, so it
withdrew
from
SENTO in 1972.
India
opposed Pakistan's membership in NAM
since Pakistan had done the
same to India seeking entry
into
Organization
of Islamic Countries (OIC). When CENTO
winded up in 1979, Pakistan
became a regular
member
of NAM in the Havana Summit and has
been attending all subsequent
summits.
Pakistan
can play an important role in NAM given
that it is the only declared
Muslim nuclear state in
the
world
and seeks non-hegemonic but
respectful coexistence in the globalizing
world.
Suggested
Readings
Students
are advised to read the
following chapters to develop a better understanding
of the various
principals
highlighted in this hand-out:
Chapter
10 in `"A Study of International
Relations" by Dr. Sultan
Khan.
Internet
Resources
In
addition to reading from the
textbook, please visit the
following web-pages for this
lecture, which
provide
useful and interesting
information:
NAM
official website
http://www.nam.gov.za