Is It Time for a New Non-Aligned Movement?

This week marks the 67th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in Indonesia which brought together 29 Asian and African countries at the height of the Cold War and marked the beginning of what would later become the Non-Aligned Movement. Back then, more than a hundred countries were a part of this movement to avoid being drawn into the U.S.-Soviet dual and to foster greater ties within the so-called “Third World.”

Today, as Russia’s ties with the U.S. revert to their Cold War chilliness and the U.S. standoff with China intensifies, there are new calls to revive the Non-Aligned Movement among developing countries. Former Chilean Ambassador and Boston University Research Professor Jorge Heine is among the most vocal proponents of creating what he calls “Non-Aligned 2.0.”