The Bandung Conference, attended by 29 Asian and African countries, was held in April 1955 in the Indonesian city of Bandung. The participants of the conference condemned colonialism, racial discrimination, and segregation, expressed support for people fighting for independence, and advocated for economic and cultural cooperation among states and peaceful resolution of conflicts. The conference played a crucial role in laying the foundation for the Non-Aligned Movement, which was formally established in 1961.The Bandung Conferences Background: Decolonization & the Cold WarPoster calling for the decolonization of India. Source: Liberating NarrativesFollowing the end of World War II, decolonization was adopted as one of the leading tenets of post-war global order. The newly established international organization, the United Nations, supported this principle. As a result, by the first half of the 1950s, new Asian and African nations emerged with their diplomatic corps which needed to be integrated into the new world order.In this new landscape, President Sukarno of newly independent Indonesia and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru emerged as key initiators of the Bandung Conference, bringing together newly decolonized Asian and African nations.The idea of forming a united front among such countries was first born during the Asian Relations Conference held in March 1947 in India and hosted by Nehru, then the head of Indias provisional government. Soon after the meeting, in August of the same year, India became an independent political entity.The 1947 conference represented the inaugural act of Jawaharlal Nehrus vision of Indias foreign policy in a post-World War II international stage. The new approach was based on enforcing the principles of non-alignment, anti-colonialism, and anti-racism.Portrait of President Sukarno, c. 1949. Source: Leiden University Libraries Digital CollectionsIn January 1949, a second conference was held in New Delhi, India. The meeting, attended by 19 Asian and African countries, discussed Indonesias struggle for independence from Dutch colonial rule. Headed by Nehru, the leaders condemned Dutch actions in Indonesia and demanded Indonesias right to become a sovereign country. During the conference, the leaders created a series of resolutions and presented them before the United Nations Security Council, urging the organization to act.The international pressure forced the Dutch to negotiate, and following the successful Dutch-Indonesian round table, Indonesia was granted independence on December 27, 1949.The event marked a significant milestone in the anticolonial struggle, showcasing the potential of Afro-Asian diplomatic unity, though Western pressure on the Dutch also played a crucial role.In the initial stage of consolidating the Afro-Asian nations, Chinese support played an important role. Mao Zedong, influenced by Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai, aimed to foster anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, and nationalist sentiments across Africa and Asia.Despite Chinas strong relations with the Soviet Union, Mao envisaged communist China as the regional leader. During this period, Mao Zedong publicly supported newly emerged Asian nations while denouncing Western colonialism.Setting the StageMap showing the 29 participants of the Bandung Conference, by Ichwan Palongengi. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn April 1954, the Colombo Powers Conference was held, where Indonesia once again proposed organizing an international meeting of decolonized countries. As a result, a planning group was established, which met in the city of Bogor, Indonesia, in December 1954 and formally declared that such a conference, later known as the Bandung Conference, would be held in April 1955.During the preliminary meeting, the group outlined the key goals of the anticipated conference: promote cooperation among newly independent Asian and African nations; discuss the social, economic, and cultural challenges these nations faced; outline their mutual interests; oppose colonialism; and increase the visibility of African and Asian countries on the international stage.These events carved out the contours of the movement of the non-aligned nations. These Asian and African countries preferred neutrality amid the rising Cold War tensions, believing that by aligning themselves either with the United States or the Soviet Union, their interests would not be met or represented.This sentiment was even more reinforced after the armistice agreement between the United States, China, and North Korea, ending the Korean War. During the negotiating process, Asian nations were largely excluded. However, many of them, including India, which organized the repatriation of prisoners of war, were involved in the conflict.Third World leaders during the Colombo Conference, 1954. Source: LMDThe first Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1954-1955 caused wider discontent among the Asian nations. Fearing that the conflict over the Quemoy and Matsu islands, held by Taiwan but claimed by Communist China, might spill over, the rest of the region criticized the United States and China for their critical military and political decisions that were made without the Asian countries consultation.In addition, despite the waves of post-World War II decolonization, France refused to grant independence to Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, declaring the colonies an integral part of French territories. To safeguard its influence, France utilized violence against the Algerian rebels, while key Western powers, such as the United States and Great Britain, failed to push Frances decolonization.When Indonesia was granted independence in 1949, another European colonial power, the Netherlands, refused to cede West New Guinea (West Papua) to Indonesia. In this case, Western powers also did not show much support for Indonesias claim, as they feared the formation of an Indonesian-Chinese alliance.Indonesia, however, viewed West New Guinea as an integral part of the former Dutch East Indies and believed its inclusion was essential to completing the process of national decolonization and unifying the archipelago under one sovereign state. When Indonesian President Sukarno emerged as the leader of the newly independent Asian and African nations (also known as NEFOS, Newly Emerging Forces), one of his key goals was to acquire international support to prevent the transferring of sovereignty of West Papua to indigenous Papuans.The Bandung ConferenceDelegates arriving at the Bandung Conference, 1955. Source: MediumThe idea of holding the first large-scale international conference of Asian and African countries materialized between April 18 and 24, 1955, in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.Twenty-nine countries attended the Bandung Conference, representing a total of 1.5 billion people, 54% of the worlds population. These countries were: Egypt, Ethiopia, Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), Liberia, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Burma (present-day Myanmar), Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), India, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, China (Peoples Republic of China), Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Malaya (before it became Malaysia in 1963), Syria, Turkey, Yemen (North Yemen), and Jordan.Sukarno, Indonesias first president, appealed on behalf of the Southern countries in his opening speech dedicated to Bandung:This is the first intercontinental conference of people of color in human history. Wherever, whenever and however it appears, colonialism is an evil thing, and one must be eradicated from the earth I hope that it will give evidence of the fact that we Asian and African leaders understand that Asia and Africa can prosper only when they are united, and that even the safety of the world at large cannot be safeguarded without a united Asia-Africa I hope that this conference will give guidance to mankind, will point out to mankind the way which it must take to attain safety and peace. I hope that it will give evidence that Asia and Africa have been reborn, nay, that a New Asia and a New Africa have been born.A plenary session at the Bandung Conference, 1955. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Foreign Ministry of the Republic of IndonesiaDuring the conference, participants carved out the Ten Principles of Bandung (also known as the Bandung Spirit and Bandung Declaration). These principles represented a political statement of the Asian-African countries, laying out the framework for peaceful resolution of conflicts, cooperation among the nations, respect for international law, self-determination, non-interference, and equality. This ten-point declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation, was inspired in part by the values found in Indonesias Pancasila, which is the founding philosophy of Indonesia, formulated by President Sukarno for the newly-independent country in 1945. Pancasila is composed of five principles:Belief in the One and Only God;Just and civilized humanity;The unity of Indonesia;Democracy;Social justice for all the Indonesians.The Ten Principles of BandungGrand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin el-Husseini with the prime minister of the Peoples Republic of China, Zhou Enlai at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia, 1955. Source: Middle East EyeThe Ten Principles of Bandung were not drafted in one session but were the result of several days of intense discussion and negotiation among the delegates. Despite having diverse political systems, cultures, and ideologies, participants formally agreed upon and included the following principles in the Final Communiqu of the Bandung Conference:Respect for fundamental human rights and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations;Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations;Recognition of the equality of all races and nations;Non-interference in the internal affairs of another country;Respect for the right of each nation to defend itself singly or collectively, by the Charter of the United Nations;Abstention from the use of arrangements of collective defense to serve the particular interests of any of the big powers, abstention by any country from exerting pressures on other countries;Refraining from acts or threats of aggression or the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any country;Settlement of all international disputes by peaceful means;Promotion of mutual interests and cooperation;Respect for justice and international obligation.The Final Communiqu of the Conference also outlined the necessity of technical and economic assistance to developing countries to lessen their dependency on leading industrialized nations, mostly Western countries.The participating states agreed to support this effort by sharing their expertise and knowledge, including setting up regional research and training centers.Legacy of the Bandung ConferenceCIA map showing the areas of colonial tension, 1953-68. Source: Library of Congress, Washington DCThe Bandung Conference marked a shift toward a more inclusive international system, promising to reshape the global order through collective action founded on shared values and aspirations. For these reasons, the Bandung Conference is commonly referred to as the inaugural moment for the emergence of the Third World.At the same time, the Final Communiqu and Ten Principles of Bandung reinforced global discussions on human rights and self-determination, aligning with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.However, for some scholars, like Julian Go, the direct influence of the Bandung spirit on world politics remains unclear. According to this view, after Bandung, the policies of these emerging nations still reflected aspects of their colonial past, albeit with a non-Western identity. They mirrored Western-style industrialization and state-driven modernization rather than introducing alternative economic models. For instance, under Nehru, India went through the Five-Year Modernization Plan, largely inspired by Western political and economic strategies centered on economic growth.For others, the Bandung Conference and its legacy are multilayered. Narendran Kumarakulasingam, for example, calls this notion a Bandungs beyond Bandung.There is no denying, however, that the meeting in Bandung in 1955 indelibly altered the global stage, resulting in the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1961. This movement influenced many leaders, including Yugoslavias Josip Broz Tito and Ghanas Kwame Nkrumah, to pursue a distinct foreign policy. Indeed, these leaders would alter the Cold War dynamics by advocating for strategic neutrality.