Question

Explain why some countries chose to be nonaligned. What did they fear, and what did they have to gain by remaining neutral?

Answer 1

Answer:  

• They feared becoming involved in war and conflict.  
• What they had to gain was a better path toward peaceful development of their nations.

Details:

As the superpowers in the Cold War, the USA and the USSR, sought to line up countries in allegiance with their positions, a group of nations emphasized the importance for remaining non-aligned.  One of the leaders of the non-alignment movement, Jawaharlal Nehru, said in a speech in 1948:  "When we say our policy is one of non-alignment, obviously we mean non-alignment with military blocs."  The Non-Aligned Movement held its first conference in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1961.  The members of the movement saw the siding up being done in the Cold War as a path to increasing world tension and conflict, and sought to remain non-aligned for the sake of preserving peace and equal opportunity for development.