Norman Carr, age 16, of Wilmington, Del., for his question:

WHAT ARE THE NONALIGNED NATIONS?

Nonaligned nations are those countries that have no formal commitment to either of the two power blocs in the world, led by the United States and the Soviet Union. The loose association of countries consists of mostly developing non Western nations, with a broad spectrum of political institutions ranging from leftist to ultraconservative and from democratic to dictatorial.

The formation of the group of nonaligned nations may be traced to the division of the world into communist and capitalist blocs after World War II and the subsequent end of colonialism. It was initiated by leaders of countries that had been recently freed of foreign control and rejected renewed ties to any big power.

Nonalignment is distinct from neutrality in that it implies an active participation in international affairs and judgment of issues on their merits rather than from predetermined positions. Thus, a large majority of the nonaligned nations opposed the United States during the Vietnam War and the USSR after its invasion of Afghanistan.

In practice, however, many nonaligned nations lean heavily toward one or the other of the power blocs and their claim to nonalignment is challenged.