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The Global South in a shifting world: Challenges, aspirations and the road ahead
The threat against multilateralism is coming not only from the so-called major powers, but also from inward-looking foreign policies of some countries in the Global South.
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Proud reminder: Motorists ride in front of the Merdeka Building on April 16 in Bandung, West Java. The building was the venue for the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, where 29 Asian and African countries convened in the spirit of anti-colonialism. (Antara/Novrian Arbi)
M
any of us would quite readily align with the notion that the Bandung Conference in 1955 was transformative. It was more than an event where leaders simply gathered and had a wonderful time. Nowadays, not many conferences are of quite the same type.
Back then, leaders of 29 nations in Asia and Africa came to Bandung with all the various problems and challenges facing them, and yet, they had wisdom and dared to transform the world.
Leadership matters. And that’s what the leaders demonstrated.
In 1955, there were some 76 member states of the United Nations. In two decades, this number almost doubled to 144. People became independent and freed from colonial domination. That, I think, is transformative.
Aside from the numerical change that Bandung helped unleash, we saw the birth of new ideas on how we can deal with the challenge of geopolitical competition.
Before Bandung, we were led to believe that we must choose sides. You were either with the East or the West, however one chose to describe the contesting parties in the then-prevailing Cold War. Essentially, the suggestion made was that for countries like ours in the Global South, we simply follow. This is what Bandung rebelled against. We said we have a third voice, that we have alternatives, we have choices.
Because of Bandung, we have the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which was born soon after. The idea was that countries like Indonesia, India, and others have autonomy. We also have an independent capacity to decide on the merits of each case and how we should position ourselves.
