Question

What is the meaning of Non-Alignment ?

Hint:

Remember the key difference: Non-alignment is not neutrality. Neutrality implies staying out of conflicts (like Switzerland), while non-alignment was about actively participating in world politics but without taking sides in the Cold War.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Non-Alignment was a foreign policy stance adopted by many newly independent nations during the Cold War. It defined their relationship with the two rival superpower blocs.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The meaning of Non-Alignment is the policy of a state to not formally align itself with or against either of the major power blocs—the United States (capitalist bloc) and the Soviet Union (communist bloc)—that dominated world politics during the Cold War.
Key features of this policy were:


Strategic Independence: It was a policy of maintaining the freedom to decide on international issues on their own merits, rather than on the basis of a pre-existing commitment to a superpower.

Active Participation: It was not a policy of neutrality or isolationism. Non-aligned countries actively participated in world affairs, often acting as mediators to reduce Cold War tensions.

Focus on Development: It allowed these nations to seek aid and maintain good relations with both blocs, focusing on their own development rather than getting entangled in superpower rivalries.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Non-Alignment is the foreign policy of maintaining strategic independence by refusing to join either of the superpower military blocs during the Cold War.