International Development: Shaping the mosaic
The Afro-Asian Conference of 1955
By Fonju Ndemesah
The development discourse has from the origin been monopolized my bilateral and multilateral institution championing the ideas of superpowers. The conference held in Bandung from the 18-24 of April 1955 was one of the most important move undertaken by the colonized to make their voice audible. Before the 1955 conference, one could name the Bakou Congress of 1920, in 1924 the league to fight imperialism organized a conference in Moscou and Bruxelles. A conference on Asian relation was organized by Nehru in New Delhi from the 23 march to the 2nd of April, which saw the presence of twenty five different countries (Rist: 1996). The Asian socialist movements that flourished in the years between 1947 and 1955 had a formative influence on the Bandung Conference in 1955.[1] The Bandung Conference remains one of the most significant gathering which came out with powerful position from the developing nations.
The conference was called by the government of Birmania, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Pakistan in the Town of Bandung in Indonesia. It saw the presence of 29[2] countries representing over half the world’s population. It should be noted that this conference took place in the cold war period with most countries taking part in the conference confined in one of the two blocs.
President Sukarno of Indonesia in his opening speech had this to say about the tense diplomatic environment that characterized the period. He described the cold war period as a period of “fear”; he said, “We are living in a word of fear. The life of man today is corroded and made bitter by fear. Fear of the future, fear of the hydrogen bomb, fear of ideologies, perhaps this fear is a greater danger than the danger itself, because it is fear which drives men to act foolishly, to act thoughtlessly, and to act dangerously…”[3] The tense climate notwithstanding, the aim of the Conference was to go above the cold war prism to create a third bloc. Still in the words of the host Sukarno, we can trace some of the objectives of the Bandung Conference.
In his address to the delegates, he pointed out what the gathering in Bandung could produce. He said, “We can inject the voice of reason into world affairs. We can mobilize the entire spiritual, all the moral, all the political strength of Asia and Africa on the side of peace. Yes, we! We, the peoples of Asia and Africa, 1,400,000,000 strong, far more than half the human population of the world, we can mobilize what I call the moral violence of nations in favor of peace. We can demonstrate to the minority of the world which lives on the other continent that we the majority are for peace, not for war, and that whatever strength we have will always be thrown on to the side of peace”.[4] Sukarno portrayed himself as the leader of what he named NEFOS (Newly Emerging Forces). In fact, the 1955 conference gave birth to what became popularly known as the “Non-Aligned Movement”. Explaining the later at the preparatory conference of the Non-Aligned Movement scheduled in Lusaka in 1970, President Nyerere said to the preparatory committee that, “By non-alignment we are saying to big powers that we also belong to the planet. We are asserting the right of small, and militarily weaker nations to determine their own policies in their own interests and to have an influence on the world affairs which occurs with the right of all peoples to live on this earth as human beings”. He further says, “all that the non-aligned nations have in common is their non-alignment; that is, their existence as weak nations, trying to maintain their independence, and use it for their own benefit in a world dominated politically, economically and militarily by a few big powers” (Nyerere, 1973)The Bandung Conference overtly criticized all types of colonialism. The participants demanded the immediate independence of African countries which could not take part in this conference because they were still under the repressive colonial rule.
Despite the great success this conference had in influencing international debate on development, a critical look at the conference portrays the predominance of Asian countries among the participants. If the absence of African countries could be understood due to colonialism, the absence of South American countries is still to be justified by the organizers. Rist sustains that the ten points of the final document produced by the participants of the Bandung Conference was alike to the already existing international laws and to the dispositions of the UN Charter (Rist : 1996). The Ten point declaration of the conference, also named the “Ten Principles of Peace” based on the 1954 Chinese-Indian declaration of “Five Principles of Peace” harbored the ideas of the United Nations Charter and Jawaharlal Nehru’s principles. The Ten Points declarations had this to say:
As it can be noticed, the Bandung “Ten Principles of Peace” seem a remake of the principles UN charter. The development section of the final document, which is more to our interest in this work, had much to say. What then are the impacts of the conclusions arrived at Bandung to the vision of development? What made the conference held from the 18-24 of April 1955 so important in the development discourse? To try to answer these questions - without any presumption of being exhaustive, we will focus on those points which are of clear importance to the purpose of this study.
Conclusion
To conclude one can say the Bandung Conference of 1955 changed everything to remain the same. The most significant aspect is that the voice of new actors played a significant role in an old paradigm. Development remained economic growth, with a vision of international institutions sometimes blinded by their economic centered vision of growth. Nothing was done to borrow some aspect of the rich Asian and African culture to help in the development navigation. As Quest well says it, the Non-Aligned Movement that was born in Belgrade in 1961 was “clearly a tactic, not a philosophy». Neither the Bandung Conference nor the Non-aligned movement, nor the NIEO declaration which came after were able to introduce an Afro-Asian touch to the dominant vision of development. The speeches and some of the resolutions of the Bandung Conference seem more an “outpouring of emotions”[5]rather than a concrete trial to add an Afro-Asian alternative to the dominant western vision of development. Hettne and Blonstrom (1984) instead give a great significance to the Bandung Conference in bringing the ideas of Third World Countries in the Development debate. The Dependency Theory that will influence the traditional western vision of development, according to Hettne, was nurtured and rendered powerful by the non-aligned nations.
The development discourse has from the origin been monopolized my bilateral and multilateral institution championing the ideas of superpowers. The conference held in Bandung from the 18-24 of April 1955 was one of the most important move undertaken by the colonized to make their voice audible. Before the 1955 conference, one could name the Bakou Congress of 1920, in 1924 the league to fight imperialism organized a conference in Moscou and Bruxelles. A conference on Asian relation was organized by Nehru in New Delhi from the 23 march to the 2nd of April, which saw the presence of twenty five different countries (Rist: 1996). The Asian socialist movements that flourished in the years between 1947 and 1955 had a formative influence on the Bandung Conference in 1955.[1] The Bandung Conference remains one of the most significant gathering which came out with powerful position from the developing nations.
The conference was called by the government of Birmania, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Pakistan in the Town of Bandung in Indonesia. It saw the presence of 29[2] countries representing over half the world’s population. It should be noted that this conference took place in the cold war period with most countries taking part in the conference confined in one of the two blocs.
President Sukarno of Indonesia in his opening speech had this to say about the tense diplomatic environment that characterized the period. He described the cold war period as a period of “fear”; he said, “We are living in a word of fear. The life of man today is corroded and made bitter by fear. Fear of the future, fear of the hydrogen bomb, fear of ideologies, perhaps this fear is a greater danger than the danger itself, because it is fear which drives men to act foolishly, to act thoughtlessly, and to act dangerously…”[3] The tense climate notwithstanding, the aim of the Conference was to go above the cold war prism to create a third bloc. Still in the words of the host Sukarno, we can trace some of the objectives of the Bandung Conference.
In his address to the delegates, he pointed out what the gathering in Bandung could produce. He said, “We can inject the voice of reason into world affairs. We can mobilize the entire spiritual, all the moral, all the political strength of Asia and Africa on the side of peace. Yes, we! We, the peoples of Asia and Africa, 1,400,000,000 strong, far more than half the human population of the world, we can mobilize what I call the moral violence of nations in favor of peace. We can demonstrate to the minority of the world which lives on the other continent that we the majority are for peace, not for war, and that whatever strength we have will always be thrown on to the side of peace”.[4] Sukarno portrayed himself as the leader of what he named NEFOS (Newly Emerging Forces). In fact, the 1955 conference gave birth to what became popularly known as the “Non-Aligned Movement”. Explaining the later at the preparatory conference of the Non-Aligned Movement scheduled in Lusaka in 1970, President Nyerere said to the preparatory committee that, “By non-alignment we are saying to big powers that we also belong to the planet. We are asserting the right of small, and militarily weaker nations to determine their own policies in their own interests and to have an influence on the world affairs which occurs with the right of all peoples to live on this earth as human beings”. He further says, “all that the non-aligned nations have in common is their non-alignment; that is, their existence as weak nations, trying to maintain their independence, and use it for their own benefit in a world dominated politically, economically and militarily by a few big powers” (Nyerere, 1973)The Bandung Conference overtly criticized all types of colonialism. The participants demanded the immediate independence of African countries which could not take part in this conference because they were still under the repressive colonial rule.
Despite the great success this conference had in influencing international debate on development, a critical look at the conference portrays the predominance of Asian countries among the participants. If the absence of African countries could be understood due to colonialism, the absence of South American countries is still to be justified by the organizers. Rist sustains that the ten points of the final document produced by the participants of the Bandung Conference was alike to the already existing international laws and to the dispositions of the UN Charter (Rist : 1996). The Ten point declaration of the conference, also named the “Ten Principles of Peace” based on the 1954 Chinese-Indian declaration of “Five Principles of Peace” harbored the ideas of the United Nations Charter and Jawaharlal Nehru’s principles. The Ten Points declarations had this to say:
- Respect for fundamental human rights and for the purposes and 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 of the equality of all nations large and small.
- Abstention from intervention or interference in internal affairs of another country.
- Respect for the right of each nation to defend itself, singly or collectively, in conformity with the charter of the United Nations.
- Abstention from the use of arrangement of collective defense to serve any particular interests of the big powers
a) Abstention by any country from exerting pressure from other countries. - Refraining from acts or treats 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, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties own choice, in conformity with the charter of the United Nations.
- Promotion of mutual interest and Cooperation
- Respect for justice and international obligations
As it can be noticed, the Bandung “Ten Principles of Peace” seem a remake of the principles UN charter. The development section of the final document, which is more to our interest in this work, had much to say. What then are the impacts of the conclusions arrived at Bandung to the vision of development? What made the conference held from the 18-24 of April 1955 so important in the development discourse? To try to answer these questions - without any presumption of being exhaustive, we will focus on those points which are of clear importance to the purpose of this study.
- First, in a world buffeted by superpower rivalry, a bloc of neutralist nations was a rational choice for the hitherto disregarded nations of the Asia and Africa. The Afro-Asian Conference served well this purpose. The legacy of the Bandung Conference can be noted in the birth of Non-Aligned Movement, which today is made up of over 118 nations.
- Second, the international weight this conference had on world issues helped to precipitate and integrate the vision of the “non-aligned” countries in the agenda of the superpowers. It also fostered the creation of new institutions to take care of some of the grievances put forward by the leaders of the movement. The UN for example in 1958 created the United Nations Special Funds for Economic Development, which will later join with the Technical Assistance Programme created 1949 to form the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Asian and African regional banks will also be created.
- Third, in a period characterized by cold war, with all global affairs read through reductive ideological perspectives, the Bandung conference without cancelling the duopoly tried to give a word to those fighting for their political and economic liberty. Despite the description given to the conference as a toothless bold dog, one can say the barking was heard my many developers, who reviewed their vision of the third world.
- Fourth, the Bandung Conference also helped to portray “development” as a “universal necessity”. The market centred vision of development still remains the only way for the participants to pursue development. What is important is to favor economic cooperation among third world nations, enlarge market opportunities, and create financial institutions that will stimulate economic growth.
- Fifth, according to Mathew Quest, the Afro-Asian conference of 1955 “Clearly helped to forge the modern identity politics of race, religion and nationality. Historically, hope for, and fear of the world revolution has followed what seemed to be unprecedented emerging dignity expressed by state men that wielded “Pan” ideologies which, to the ear, transcend nationalism and pointed to internationalism”. Leaders like the Former Indonesian Prime Minister, Mohammed Natsir believed in a theocratic Moslem state which he calls “Pan-Islam”. “Pan-Islam”, for Natsir, would have rendered communism obsolete because it will be “socialist in nature”. Abdel Nasser tried to lay the foundation for both Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism. Kwame Nkrumah was regarded as the leader “Pan-Africanism”. The moves of these leaders made the voice of third world nations audible to the superpowers. They also appealed to the “moral conscience of the west”. Gamal Abdel Nasser, for example, nationalized the Suez Canal (1956) and united for a short time Egypt and Syria (United Arab Republic). Nkrumah on his part claimed the unification of Africa. All these moves gained vigor and determination after the conference in Bandung, even though they all started before the 1955 gathering.
- Sixth, another great turn produced by the spirit of the Afro-Asian conference was the declaration of the New World Economic Order. From a request of head of states and governments of Non-Aligned countries united in Algers in September 1973 .They asked the UN through President Boumediene of Algeria to convene a special session to study problems related to raw materials and development. In line with the request of the Fourth Conference of the Non-Aligned, from the 9th April to the 2nd of Mai 1974, an extraordinary assembly was held. The later gave birth to what became known in the development discourse as the New International Economic Order (NIEO). The NIEO aimed at reshaping the vision of development. Adam Sneyd (2005) says that, “The New International Economic Order (NIEO) was a comprehensive package of multilateral policy options that aimed at improving the position of the Third World Countries in the world economy ”. The NIEO had some resolution which gave the vision of development of Third World Countries. The new prescriptions for world trade aimed at stabilizing and raising the cost of the commodities many G-77 members relied upon to earn foreign exchange, and to overcome long term declines in their terms of trade. Southern countries asked industrialized countries to reduce tariffs and offer Southern exporters “preferential access" to their markets. They asked for “debt relief, higher levels of development assistance, and a more powerful voice for the Third World on the boards” of the Bretton Woods institutions. The NIEO also called for the transfer of technology from the north at “minimal cost”. For Sneyd, the NIEO backers were sure that the new multilateral rules produced by the NIEO would “effect a redistribution of global income and allow Southern countries more autonomy from asymmetrical economic relationships” Rist (1996) on his part argues that the NIEO instead helped to reinforce the old vision of development by pressing on aspects which he terms the three economic notions: economic growth, the expansion of international trade, and the increase of economic aide to Third World Countries.
Conclusion
To conclude one can say the Bandung Conference of 1955 changed everything to remain the same. The most significant aspect is that the voice of new actors played a significant role in an old paradigm. Development remained economic growth, with a vision of international institutions sometimes blinded by their economic centered vision of growth. Nothing was done to borrow some aspect of the rich Asian and African culture to help in the development navigation. As Quest well says it, the Non-Aligned Movement that was born in Belgrade in 1961 was “clearly a tactic, not a philosophy». Neither the Bandung Conference nor the Non-aligned movement, nor the NIEO declaration which came after were able to introduce an Afro-Asian touch to the dominant vision of development. The speeches and some of the resolutions of the Bandung Conference seem more an “outpouring of emotions”[5]rather than a concrete trial to add an Afro-Asian alternative to the dominant western vision of development. Hettne and Blonstrom (1984) instead give a great significance to the Bandung Conference in bringing the ideas of Third World Countries in the Development debate. The Dependency Theory that will influence the traditional western vision of development, according to Hettne, was nurtured and rendered powerful by the non-aligned nations.