The active non-alignment expands
During the last months, the concept of "active non-alignment" has been increasingly used in some circles of discussion of Latin American foreign policy.
The active non-alignment states that in the face of economic and technological competition between the USA and China, Latin American countries should not take sides with either party but rather assert (ad casum)their national and regional interests.
The NAA proposal is practicable because the Chinese presence in the region has allowed the diversification of international relations in Latin America and Africa. The book Latin American Foreign Policies in the New World Order: The Active Non-Alignment Option (2023), edited by Carlos Fortin, Jorge Heine, and Carlos Ominami, is, up to now, a complete attempt to develop a theory of that doctrine.
According to Jorge Heine, a Latin Americanist and former Chilean ambassador, “The difference between this new “nonalignment” and a similar approach adopted by nations in decades past is that it is happening in an era in which developing nations are in a much stronger position than they once were, with rising powers emerging among them”
Although active non-alignment has been raised since 2019 as a possible Latin American course of action in the face of the USA-China conflict, in recent months, it has also been used to refer to the position of multiple countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia regarding the Russian-Ukrainian War.
According to Heine, since the beginning of the War between Russia and Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, it has been possible to verify a dynamic of action similar to that postulated by active non-alignment.
In the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico have not aligned with the measures of NATO and the G7. For example, they have not supported the plans to send arms to Ukraine nor the trade embargoes on Russia embargoes that they believe would directly affect their economies.
These countries argue that the war between Russia and Ukraine is a European conflict that the Europeans have to resolve and not a planetary conflict between democracy and self-sufficiency as Washington and NATO have wanted to propose.
Should the conflict between Russia and Ukraine or the feud between the US and China escalate to higher levels, practicing active non-alignment could become untenable. Either way, the NAA concept stays in the Latin American foreign policy discussion, and we would do well to keep track of it.
Great Decisions | Latin America and the Active Non-Alignment Option