Opportunities and constraints of Islamic Republic of Iran’s NAM Chairmanship
Subject Areas : Politicsمحمود خاني جويآباد 1 , مصطفی زهرانی 2
1 - Tehran University
2 -
Keywords: Non-Aligned Movement, Islamic Republic of Iran, Restructure, Power Blocs, G-20 Group,
Abstract :
While enumerating the strengths and weaknesses of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), out of all the existing hypotheses about the role and functions of this mechanism, the present paper focuses on the possibility of optimizing the function and accelerating, if possible, the restructuring of NAM, especially by taking advantage of the chairmanship of the Islamic Republic of Iran over the next three years. It offers a number of contextual and applied proposals in order to explore and analyze this hypothesis. The paper concludes that following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the NAM has been increasingly marginalized. Prominent members of the movement, including India, Indonesia (both among founding members of the NAM), South Africa and even Saudi Arabia have been assimilated in the G-20 group. Other big powers like China, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico (which are Member States of the G-20 and Observer Members of the NAM) are under tremendous pressure and have, willingly or unwillingly, become more and more inclined toward peaceful coexistence with the hegemonic powers. As a result, they have gradually distanced themselves from the original ideals of the movement and even worse, have not been able to maintain their commitment to the principles and goals of the NAM, especially as Member States of the NAM which are also Member States of the United Nations Security Council. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran pursues a unique approach to realizing the principles and goals of the movement. The paper examines some proposals to evaluate the quality of Iran’s impact on the movement as chairman of the 16th Conference of the NAM and a member of its Troika.
