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‘Bandung Spirit’ revisited amid global fractures
Diplomats and academicians called for the “Bandung Spirit” produced in the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference to be used as guidance for Global South leaders to commit practical action, such as intensifying communication among each other and consolidating common interests amid the current geopolitical situation.
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A worker cleans a gong on Wednesday at the main hall of the Merdeka Building 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 anticolonialism. (Antara/Novrian Arbi)
T
he “Bandung Spirit” introduced during the Asia-Africa Conference seven decades ago remains relevant as a strategy for Global South countries in facing the disintegration of the current world order, which requires increased communication and collective identity building among developing nations, diplomats and academicians have said.
The geopolitical injustices condemned in the 1950s remain as persistent characteristics of the contemporary global order, they have added, only taking newer forms of critical mineral, climate financing and digital equality, among other things.
Throughout this week, diplomatic communities across the country and around the globe have started holding events to commemorate the silver jubilee of the 1955 Bandung Conference, when 29 countries convened in the spirit of anticolonialism.
Among other things produced during the meeting was the Bandung Spirit, a strategy adopted by Asian and African nations rooted in self-determination, non-aggression and non-interference. Through the spirit, the adopting countries demonstrated a refusal to pick sides while championing the emancipation of colonized countries during the Cold War.
Yet, celebrations for the Bandung Spirit’s anniversary, which has been internationally recognized as among the most important diplomatic principles in contemporary history, have nonetheless taken on a gloomier tone this year, amid the great superpower rivalry that once again puts developing nations in tricky situations.
Efforts to maintain international cooperation and diplomacy instead of non-consensual exploitation and injustice have withered, diplomats said at a discussion organized by Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday, as more countries show heightened territorial interests and disregard multilateral institutions.
Read also: RI’s Global South commitment in question over muted AAC jubilee celebration
