African leaders sign the OAU Charter in Addis Ababa

The preparatory meeting set criteria to distinguish non-alignment from formal alliance membership and to support anti-colonial policy. These criteria reflected a negotiated coalition rather than a...

Twenty-five countries attended the first summit. Leaders sought an independent role in world affairs, opposed colonialism and racism, and pressed for disarmament and peaceful coexistence. The...

The summit declaration called for ending colonialism, reducing international tensions and preventing nuclear war. It asserted that newly independent states could shape world policy without becoming...

The United States confronted the Soviet Union over missiles in Cuba. The crisis placed newly independent states under intense pressure to choose sides and underscored why NAM members argued that...

War between India and China strained solidarity among states associated with Bandung. The conflict showed that non-alignment could not prevent interstate disputes and that national security priorities...

The second summit met as membership and the range of issues expanded. Delegates reaffirmed opposition to colonialism and neo-colonialism and discussed economic development, African liberation and...

The final documents emphasized cooperation with African states and opposition to imperialism and neo-colonialism. They also reflected the difficulty of turning a diverse coalition into a common...

Representatives of Asian, African and Latin American states and liberation movements met to coordinate against colonialism and imperialism. Cuba helped bring Latin America into a wider Third World...

The conference created an organization for solidarity among peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Its support for armed liberation struggles widened the anti-imperialist agenda but also...

Israel launched attacks on Egypt, Jordan and Syria, beginning a war that resulted in occupation of additional Palestinian and Arab territories. The conflict intensified NAM’s support for Palestinian...