The Non-Aligned Movement and the Foreign Ministers' Meeting At Nicosia
| Author | Sally Morphet |
| Date | 01 May 1989 |
| Published date | 01 May 1989 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711788900900502 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
393
THE
NON-ALIGNED
MOVEMENT
AND
THE
FOREIGN
MINISTERS’
MEETING
AT
NICOSIA
Sally Morphet*
Introduction
The
non-aligned
movement
has
received
somewhat
erratic
coverage
from
the
Western
media
since
its
inception
in
1961.
When
it
has
attracted
attention
as
it
did
at
the
1979
Havana
Summit,
it
has
arguably
been
misunderstood.
The
movement,
as
can
be
seen
below,
has
however
continued,
despite
setbacks,
to
ensure
that
its
major
concerns
(decolonization,
economic
development,
apart-
heid
and
Palestine)
are
given
attention
by
the
international
community
as
a
whole.
This
has
been
particularly
noticeable
in
relation
to
the
United
Nations
Security
Council.
Third
World
pressure
helped
ensure
its
enlargement
by
the
beginning
of
1966.
Since
then
the
five
Permanent
Members
(the
United
States,
the
Soviet
Union,
China,
France
and
the
United
Kingdom)
have
found
them-
selves
regularly
having
to
formulate
their
responses
to
political
subjects
raised
by
Third
World
protagonists
who
now
play a
role
on
the
international
stage
and
cannot
be
ignored.
In
an
interview
in
early January
the
US
Ambassador
to
the
United
Nations
said
that
the
non-aligned
movement
had
given
him
more
trouble
than
the
Soviet
Union
or
China.
Third
World
policies
are
formulated
in
a
number
of
fora
including
group-
ings
such
as
the
Organization
of
African
Unity
and
the
Organization
of
the
Islamic
Conference.
These
and
others
(e.g.
ASEAN)
all
contribute
to
the
work
put
into
the
negotiation
of
the
long
Political
and
Economic
Declarations
which
are
produced
at
major
non-aligned
meetings.
This
article
attempts
to
put
the
history
of
Third
World
initiatives
into
perspective
and
gives
a
detailed
account
of
the
way
a
major
non-aligned
meeting
is
conducted.
The
non-aligned
Foreign
Ministers’
meeting
at
Nicosia
in
September
1988
was
the
first
major
meeting
since
the
Harare
Summit
(August/September
1986)
and
was
of
particular
interest
since
it
gave
the
first
real
indication
of
how
the
initiators
among
the
non-aligned
considered
that
they
needed to
change
their
methods
and
style
of
operation
in
the
new
context
of
United
States/Soviet
rapprochement.
Origins
of the
non-aligned
movement.
The
non-aligned
movement
has
been
a
focal
point
for
Third
World
discussion
of
major
global
political
and
economic
issues
since
its
first
Summit
at
Belgrade
in
1961.
It
was
established
primarily
through
the
efforts
of Tito,
Nasser
and
Nehru
who
were
trying
to
find
ways
for
weaker
countries
to
influence
the
major
powers
and
break
down
the
bloc
system,
and
to
further
their
foreign
policy
interests
on
such
issues
as
disarmament,
decolonization,
apartheid,
great
Power
military
bases,
natural
resources
and
economic
development.
They
were
much
influenced
by
UN
Charter
principles
and
adopted
many
as
their
own.
These
were
codified
at
the
Havana
Summit
(1979)
when
a
number
of
*
The
views
expressed
in
the
article
are
those
of
the
author
and
do
not
necessarily
reflect
the
views
of
the
Foreign
and
Commonwealth
Office.
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