Explain bipolarity and non alignment movement

The NAM is an international forum of 120 developing countries that believe in the ideal of non-alignment with the major power blocs. It was established in 1961 in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia under the leadership of the then Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser and the President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito.

• In the aftermath of the Second World War and the decolonisation process, many countries in the developing world in Asia and Africa felt the need for a strong movement towards securing peace and prosperity, and establishing security for all countries.
• This was when the world was divided into two power blocs, that of the USA and the Soviet Union, especially after the signing of the NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
• Most of these countries felt the need for mutual cooperation and coordination with respect to not formally aligning with or against any of the power blocs.
• The collapse of colonialism and the cold war led to the need for improved coordination among the Global South.
• It is interesting to note that the term ‘third world’ arose during the cold war era to denote countries that were not aligned to either of the two power blocs.