It must come as no surprise that traces of any continuing relevance of the 'Bandung spirit' are enthusiastically being sought in the wake of the sixtieth anniversary of the Asian-African Conference. It was the first high-profile formal conference of newly independent (or 'about-to-be independent') post-colonial states at a rather momentous historical conjuncture: the continuing struggles for decolonisation were pronounced in the context of the Cold War. The Final Communiqué of the Bandung conference strongly articulated a collective political project against colonialism and imperialism, and for self-determination and racial equality, while already laying the foundations for the idea of strategic nonalignment in the context of the Cold War. It is in this sense that the Bandung conference has come to be emblematic of an event that inaugurated a radically different international political landscape to the immediate post-1945 world order. In this article, the authors focus specifically on the development aspirations articulated at the Asian-African Conference in Bandung, which they argue are the site of struggles and contradictions. As the authors show, the 'Bandung spirit' underlined the political project of Third Worldism, as well as the call for a new international economic order in the 1970s. Yet, they also identify some constraints and contradictions that the 'Bandung spirit' had to navigate and the challenges it was up against. In the final part of the article, the authors briefly discuss the extent to which the 'Bandung spirit' continues to resonate in contemporary global politics of development.

Processes of norm localisation play a crucial role in shaping the extent to which global governance norms are institutionalised at national and sub-national levels. This article explores the politics of norm localisation through an empirical investigation of how global norms of "transparency" were localised in sub-national processes of extractive industry governance in Bojonegoro, Indonesia. Previous theories of localisation have emphasised "constructivist" dynamics through which patterns of norm localisation are shaped decisively by efforts to build normative or cognitive congruence with local ideas and identities. In contrast, the mix of a newly democratised environment, the persistent power of corporatist elite networks and a populist style of local politics prevailing in Bojonegoro have diminished the significance of such constructivist dynamics as a basis for explaining varied patterns of norm localisation. Instead, patterns of norm localisation have depended crucially on the capacity of local political leaders to harness global governance norms instrumentally as a basis for consolidating and strengthening their own local power base. These findings have important implications for both theoretical and practical understandings of how global norm localisation processes vary in response to the contrasting political contexts in which global governance norms targeting the extractive sector are implemented.

This article analyzes how and why contemporary Global South countries’ South–South cooperation (SSC) exhibits a convergence between normative and material interests. The normative approach underlines that SSC is driven by a country’s experience with colonialism and underdevelopment. SSC is perceived as a mechanism to alter the Global South’s asymmetrical relations with the dominant Global North. The material approach highlights the strategic values of SSC for Southern powers. Through SSC, Southern countries desire to improve their reputation, garner support from other South countries in international fora, and pursue their own broader economic agendas. By utilizing domestic politics analysis, Indonesia’s experience shows that a more pragmatic approach to SSC reflects a broader transformation of Indonesia’s domestic political configuration. While Indonesia’s early practices of SSC prefer normative over material interests, the country’s current policies display a convergence of its material and normative interests, which signifies the emergence of ‘interest-based Third World solidarity’.

No abstract

Stagnasi dalam perundingan perdagangan multilateral di World Trade Organization (WTO) pada dua dekade terakhir, mendorong munculnya inisiatif perundingan di tingkat regional atau bilateral. Indonesia termasuk negara yang aktif terlibat dalam berbagai inisiatif perundingan perdagangan tersebut. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk mendiskusikan kesiapan Indonesia merespons perjanjian perdagangan internasional khususnys Indonesia - Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) dan Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Dengan memanfaatkan perspektif ‘ofensif’ dan ‘defensif’ dalam kebijakan perdagangan, kesiapan Indonesia akan dicermati dari dua sisi kepentingan. Kepentingan ofensif dilihat dari kesiapan untuk memanfaatkan peluang atas kemudahan akses pasar yang tersedia. Kepentingan defensif dianalisis dari kesiapan atas daya saing akibat dari konsekuensi perjanjian yang bersifat timbal balik. Tulisan ini berargumen bahwa pemerintah Indonesia masih kesulitan dalam menangkap peluang kepentingan ofensif karena akses pasar yang tersedia belum dimanfaatkan secara optimal. Besarnya potensi pasar domestik, menjadi salah satu penyebab ekspansi pasar global belum menjadi prioritas pelaku bisnis nasional. Sedangkan dari aspek kepentingan defensif, kemudahan masuknya produk asing perlu dipastikan tidak mematikan produsen dalam negeri akibat tidak memiliki daya saing, namun justru dapat dimaksimalkan agar menjadi pelengkap bagi rantai produksi domestik.