11 - Asian–African Internationalism

Summary

Asian-African Internationalism emerged in the spring of 1947 with a conference organized by soon-to-be independent India. The conference gathered non-governmental delegations from countries and non-sovereign territories in Asia and the Middle East to discuss problems related to the post-colonial future. By 1949, Asian-African Internationalism had turned into an association of governments dedicated to Indonesian independence. Using the regional status of the Arab League in the United Nations, Arab and Asian states formed the Arab-Asian bloc in late 1950. The extension of the Cold War into South East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East in the wake of this North Asian conflict worried Nehru greatly. At the Bandung Conference in April 1955, the Indian premier tried to reverse the globalization of the Cold War. Ultimately, Bandung was the high point of Asian-African Internationalism, but simultaneously also its endpoint. The unfolding of the Cold War in effect undermined the viability of the movement. And communist China’s attempt to seize and turn it into an anti-Indian, anti-Soviet, and anti-American organization slew Asian-African Internationalism in late 1965.