BUILDING
SOVEREIGNTY, PREVENTING HEGEMONY:
The Challenges
for Emerging Forces in the Globalised World
International
and Multidisciplinary Conference in the framework of a commemoration of the
60th anniversary of the 1955 Bandung Asian-African Conference
Indonesia, October 27-31, 2015
The 1955 Bandung Asian-African Conference was a turning point in world
history. For the first time representatives of the former colonised nations
united their forces and proposed alternatives to the world order dominated by
the superpowers. It is the birthday of the so-called Third World countries, a
term that indicates the willingness of those nations to take position outside
the two blocks of superpowers. The conference triggered solidarity movements
among peoples, countries, states and nations of Africa and Asia. It made
possible the representation of African and Asian countries in the UN and the
recognition of the voice of colonised peoples in the world order. It
accelerated the complete reconquest of independence of Africa and Asia. It led
to the Non-Aligned Movement between the two blocks of superpowers. It allowed
the newly independent countries to lead a development based on their national,
popular and sovereign interests. It contributed enormously to the prevention of
a possible third World War and to the evolution of humanity towards a more just
and peaceful world.
The Bandung Conference gave birth to an idiom: Bandung Spirit. Yet, the
exact meaning of the Bandung Spirit has not yet been defined. It is often
associated with anti-colonialism, liberation, solidarity… Some claimed it as
non-alignment to the two blocs of superpowers. Others summarised it as a call
1) for a peaceful coexistence among the nations, 2) for liberation of the world
from the hegemony of any superpower, from colonialism, from imperialism, from
any kind of domination of one country by another, 3) for the equality of races
and nations, 4) for building solidarity towards the poor, the colonised, the
exploited, the weak and those being weakened by the world order of the day, and
5) for their development.
Following the Bandung Conference, the participating countries led their
respective national development and at the same time struggled for securing
their independence and sovereignty between the two blocs of superpowers. It was
the period when Soekarno spoke at the UN “TO BUILD THE WORLD ANEW” and put
forward the concept of NEFO (New Emerging Forces) and TRISAKTI (political,
economical and cultural sovereignties) as the antithesis of OLDEFO (Old
Established Forces),…. He proposed concrete actions through CONEFO (Conference
of the New Emerging Forces) and GANEFO (Games of the New Emerging Forces).
However, the period of development generated by the Bandung Conference started
to end tragically sometime between 1965-1970 by the overthrow or assassination
of the leaders inspired by the Bandung Spirit (Patrice Lumumba, Soekarno,
Modibo Keita, Kwame Nkrumah, Ben Barka, Che Guevara, Amilcar Cabral…), the
abortion of their development projects, the entry of their country into the
Western Block circle. This period was called later the Bandung Era. The exact
ending year of the Bandung Era has not yet been established unanimously. Some
proposed 1970 as the ending year of the Bandung Era marked by the passing away
of the two main leaders of the Bandung Conference: the African Gamal Abdel Nasser
and the Asian Soekarno, and the following radical change of the political
orientation of the two countries towards the Western Block (Indonesia under
Soeharto’s Orde Baru and Egypt under Anwar Sadat’s Infitah). Certain suggested
1980 with the rise of Thatcher and Reagan in power leading the world under the
neoliberalism and taking back the control over the Third World after their lost
during the Bandung Era. Others put forward 1990 due to the fall of the Berlin
wall and the end of Soviet Union, which means the end of bipolarism and
non-alignment.
Like a big bang, the Bandung Conference generated stars, planets,
comets, meteors… forming a constellation of conferences, cultural festivals,
social and solidarity movements, associations/organisations/institutions,
business fora, research institutes, study centres, academic periodicals, news
magazines… based on, inspired or provoked by the Bandung Conference. In term of
conferences, they are, for example, the Asian-African Student Conference, the
Asian-African Writer Conference, the Asian-African Journalist Conference, the
Conferences of Cairo, of Conakry, of Belgrade (Non-Alignment), of Moshi, of
Havana (Tricontinentale), etc. In terms of organisation, they are, for example,
AAPSO (Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation), JAALA (Japan Asia Africa
Latin America) Solidarity Committee, the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity
Committee, Afro-Asian-Latin American Peoples’ Solidarity, AFRASEC (Afro-Asian
Organisation for Economic Cooperation), Association of Asian Studies in Africa
(Zambia), AARDO (African-Asian Rural Development Organization), AALCO
(Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization), AASGON (Africa Asia Scholars
Global Network), etc. In academic world, the Bandung Conference gave birth to
area studies dedicated to Africa and Asia, such as Graduate School of Asian and
African Area Studies (Kyoto University, Japan), Research Institute for
Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (Tokyo University, Japan), Ferguson
Centre for African and Asian Studies (USA), Institute of Asian and African
Studies (Moscow, Russia), Centre for African and Asian Studies (Great Zimbabwe
University), Asian and African Cultural Studies Certificate (St. John
University, USA), Institute of Asian and African Studies (The Hebrew University
of Jerusalem), Department of Asian and North African Studies (Ca' Foscari
University of Venice), Asien-Afrika-Institut (Universität Hamburg, Germany),
Department of African and Asian Studies (Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria),
Department of African and Asian Studies (University of Khartoum, Sudan),
Faculty of Asian and African Studies (Saint-Petersburg State University,
Russia), etc. This is accompanied by publications of academic periodicals as
well as news magazines, such as African and Asian Studies (Brill, the
Netherlands), Asian and African Studies (Slovak Academy of Sciences in
Bratislava, Slovakia). Journal of Asian and African Studies (SAGE, UK), Journal
of Asian and African Studies (Tokyo University), Afro-Asian Journal of Finance
and Accounting (UK), Asia and Africa today (Russian Academy of Sciences,
Russia), Journal of Identity, Culture & Politics: An Afro-Asian Dialogue
(CODESRIA, Senegal), Solidarity and Peace Journal of AAPSO Nepal (Nepal), news
magazine Afrique Asie (France), etc.
Now, 60 years after the Bandung Conference, how is our state of
knowledge of the Bandung Conference and its constellation? How was Bandung
Spirit translated into actions in Asia and Africa? What did happen in Asia and
Africa during the Bandung Era in term of development? What were the
conferences, organisations, studies and publications generated by the Bandung
Conference? What were the origin, development and impacts of every conference,
organisation, study and publication generated by the Bandung Conference?
It is to answer those questions that we organise a seminar on “BANDUNG
CONFERENCE, BANDUNG SPIRIT, BANDUNG ERA, BANDUNG CONSTELLATION: A
Historiographical Attempt”. Researches on local, national or diplomatic
primary archives from divers countries are recommended in order to write or
rectify true histories around the Bandung Conference. In addition to or in
absence of the primary archives, printed press and audio-visual archives may be
exploited.
The seminar will be focused on four dimensions of the Bandung Conference
namely Bandung Conference, Bandung Spirit, Bandung Era and Bandung
Constellation.
1. Bandung Conference in local and national history.
The Bandung Conference has been written in several books. However, none
has revealed how was the Bandung Conference perceived by the people
(communities, associations, organisations) and the government at local and
national levels in diverse countries of Africa and Asia. It is time now to look
at national archives, especially of the countries participating in the
conference, but also the archives of the press and the oral stories of the
remaining living witnesses.
2. Bandung Spirit as a framework of analysis of the state of the world.
The Bandung Spirit can be summarised through five keywords: peaceful
coexistence, liberation, equality, solidarity and development. How is the state
of the world today seen from those five keywords? The analyses are to be
applied at local, national, regional as well as international level. The
peaceful coexistence today may include the question of ethnic and religious
conflicts inside and among the nations in addition to the wars for the control
of the access to natural resources. The liberation is facing today the
persistent structures of domination in world order, especially in the field of
technology, finance, media, armament and access to natural resources. The
equality is challenged by social disparity and segregation based on gender,
religion, territorial occupation. The solidarity today deals not only with
charitable actions towards the victims of natural disasters, but also with the
sharing of the resources and the wealth of the world. The development is
confronted with the obstacles for the people to access to their basic needs:
food, clothing, housing, but also freedom for association and expression.
3. Bandung Era as a historical period in international order.
The Bandung Era, between 1945 and 1990, is the first wave of the rise of
the peoples of the South dominated by the North. During the Bandung Era, the
North was forced to adjust itself to the request of the South. After the
Bandung Era, the North has taken back its control over the world through
neo-liberal globalisation. It is necessary to write what exactly happened in
every Asian and African country in term of development during the Bandung Era.
It will also help to define the exact year of the end of the Bandung Era, as it
is not yet clear whether it is 1970, 1980, 1990, or other year.
4. Bandung Constellation: origin, development and impacts.
The contours and the content of the Bandung Constellation have not yet
been known completely. It is time to define them through tracing back their
origin, development and impacts. It is necessary to focus our work on the most
important manifestations following the Bandung Conference. They are at least
four: Conferences, Organisations, Studies and Publications. It will be
interesting to write the history of every manifestation from the perspective of
every participating country based on the following questions: what was the
origin, how did it develop and what were its impacts? Compiled in a book, it
will form at the same time a history and a directory of the Bandung
Constellation.
The seminar may include topics such as the followings. Other relevant
topics may be proposed.
- From Bandung to Belgrade: key steps and key persons
- The reactions of the West/North to the Bandung Conference and its
constellation
- The Cold War: advantages and disadvantages for the Third World
- The Bandung Conference and communist movements
- The evolution of Chinese engagement in Africa
- The emerging economies: rupture or continuity of the Bandung Era?
- The contemporary world seen from the Bandung Conference perspective
- The G77: creation, development, achievement
Mr. Darwis Khudori, Indonesia/France (Assoc. Prof. Dr.,
Architecture/History, Asian/Arabic/Islamic Studies, University of Le Havre)
Mr. Agus Suwignyo, Indonesia
Ms Ama Biney, Ghana/UK
Mr. Amzat Boukari-Yabara, Benin/Martinique/France
Mr. Asvi Adam, Indonesia
Mr. Aziz Salmone Fall, Senegal/Egypt/Canada
Mr. Bambang Purwanto, Indonesia
Mr. Baskara T. Wardaya, Indonesia
Mr. Daniel Baric, France
Mr. Imam Gunarto, Indonesia
Mr. Manoranjan Mohanty, India
Mr. Mustari Irawan, Indonesia
Mr. N. Bossoondyal, Mauritius
Mr. Tyson Tirta, Indonesia