How did countries in the Non-Aligned

Movement balance national ideology with

Cold War pressures to align themselves with
East/West blocs?
Bogdan Krstić
IB 20th Century Topics

References
[1] G.K. Helleiner. The New Global Economy and the Developing Countries.
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 1990.
Helleiner, while never specifically discussing the Non-Aligned
Movement, explains the economic forces that have shaped the
North-South divide and created the background for the Non-
Aligned Movement and the Group of 77. The role of varying
economic theories is explored by Helleiner, and shows the vary-
ing approaches to development taken by nations within the
Non-Aligned Movement, depending on their individual ideolo-
gies.
[2] Edvard Kardelj. Yugoslavia in International Relations and the Non-
Aligned Movement. Socialist Thought and Practice, 1979.
This book discusses Yugoslavia’s role in the Non-Aligned Move-
ment to great depth. Yugoslavia was one of the founding na-
tions of the Non-Aligned Movement, and one of the most
involved countries in the movement. Despite its communist
government, Yugoslavia never officially aligned itself with the
USSR, which allowed it a certain degree of diplomatic auton-
omy and gave it an international bargaining chip with the West.
Kardelj was one of the most influential figures in Tito-era Yu-
goslavia, and was the man behind many foreign policy and
economic schemes. One major issue that could arise from this
text is the bias that seems to be inherent in the title of the pub-
lisher, which is a pro-Socialist and Eastern Bloc bias. However,
further reading will reveal any issues.

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[3] Karl P. Sauvant. The Group of 77 - Evolution, Structure, Organization.
Oceana Publications, Inc., 1981.

This books deals with the Group of 77, a bloc of nations formed
during UNCTAD-I. The Group of 77 has a common set of in-
terests with the Non-Aligned Movement, albeit with a more
economic focus. Sauvant’s text focuses on how nations within
the Group of 77 have dealth with the East-West blocs and
North-South divide. He discusses the role of ideology in the
Southern context, and how it played a role in the development
of the Group of 77. He uses empirical data to show the way
the Group of 77 functions as a significant, independent, and
unified voting bloc in the United Nations, albeit with a spread
of East-West votes depending on country.

[4] Peter Willetts. The Non-Aligned Movement. Frances Pinter Ltd., 1978.

Willetts gives a short history of the Non-Aligned Movement,

delineating its declared aims and goals, and explaining the role
of colonialism in the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Willetts also describes the role of ideology within various na-
tions in the Non-Aligned Movement, and how the varying po-
sitions were reconciled within the context of the Non-Aligned
Movement.