ABSTRACT
Nonalignment initially represented exploratory forays into the international arena by the first states of the post-Second World War decolonization era. Nonalignment was an approach designed to break through the dichotomy between alliance membership and withdrawal from international political activism. At the level of national foreign policy, the factors which pushed India towards nonalignment have been shown to be irrelevant for New Zealand: state-building, nation-building, economic development, and diplomatic coalitions with the Soviet bloc. As a foreign policy, nonalignment can be regarded as the international expression of domestic nationalism once independence is achieved. The continuously increasing participation at the nonaligned summit meetings is sufficient testimony to the political importance that attaches to the terminology. The problems that the nonaligned countries snare are simple: health, clothing and shelter. The constancy of themes with variations in emphases can be seen in the nonaligneds' concern with colonialism, disarmament and economic matters.
