BBandung, 1955: Global Meeting Point

Abstract

This paper applies methods and concepts of Global and Transnational History to reflect on the Asian-African Conference of Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955, as an emblematic case of the global relations behind the appropriation and meaning of denominations such as Third World and Afro-Asian movement. We believe in the potentiality of this event for the construction of connected narratives. Disputes over the place of leadership, external participation to the group officially represented, as well as the repercussions and efforts to insert the event into non-Statewise mobilization agendas such as Pan-Africanism are approached through sources produced during the Congress, as well as through articles by the press and analysts. Ultimately, this paper argues for the importance of complexifying the analysis of the participants of international politics introduced by the Afro-Asian Conference, problematizing categories normally accepted as dominant for political action in the period and broadening the perception of the field of International Relations as a whole.

Keywords

• Conferência Afro-Asiática de Bandung, Terceiro Mundo, História Global