| Common Name: | Group of 26 |
| Official Name: | Alliance of Developing Nations |
| Location: | Worldwide |
| Area: | N/A |
| Population: | N/A |
| Capital: | None |
| Government Type: | Loose alliance for mutual aid and protection; the G-26 holds summit meetings twice yearly to decide on important issues. |
| Head of Gov't: | Prime Minister of India chairs summit meetings |
| Ruling Party: | No political parties |
| Next Elections: | N/A |
| Official Language: | English (for official international purposes; various languages in use in member nations) |
| Official Religion: | None |
| Membership: | United Nations, World Security Committee
(permanent)
The members of the group include Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zimbabwe |
The G-26 grew out of the increasing domination of the world by the members of the old UN Security Council. With the establishment of a permanent Northern majority in the Council, Northern countries could act with impunity, and the transformation of large parts of Africa and southern Asia into effective colonies of the Security Council provoked the founding of the G-26.
Led by India, the G-26 was an attempt to redress the unbalanced power structure of the UN. Its members agreed to mutual protection and aid, and acted as a pressure group within the UN General Assembly. Northern perceptions that the G-26 was behind the terrorist bombings of New York and Washington seem to have been unfounded, but certainly the foundation of the alliance aggravated the "us-versus-them" mentality in both Northern and Southern countries.
The G-26 has no government as such, as its only function is to provide a permanent mechanism for mutual support. Its structure closely resembles that of NATO. Member countries send representatives (usually either heads of state or ambassadors) to biannual summit meetings, where issues of defence or internal conflict are decided.
India definitely plays the leading role in the Group. China's role is peculiar; as a significant world power in its own right, it has distanced itself somewhat from the goals of the G-26; such action has led other member nations to question Chinese motives.
Source: The 2057 Real World Almanac, UNOCA Press, The Hague, 2058.