70 Years since Bandung: Non-Alignment,
Multi-Alignment, and the Role of Middle Powers

15–17 April 2025 in Bandung / Jakarta, Indonesia 

The Global History and Politics Dialogue commemorated the 70th anniversary of the first Asian-African Conference in Bandung by examining its relevance to today’s geopolitical strategies as well as its historical influence on the countries in the Global South.

The conference was organized by the Körber History Forum in cooperation with the Körber Emerging Middle Powers Initiative.

Objectives

• Strategic insights for today: The evolution of non-alignment into today’s multi-alignment approach, where emerging and traditional middle powers navigate relationships between major actors.
• Exploration of Non-Aligned Movement’s legacy: The legacy of Bandung in shaping contemporary alliances like BRICS and its role in shaping the agenda of middle powers in the 20th and 21st centuries.
• Insights for German and European foreign policy in building partnerships with countries from the Global South, addressing their concerns, and exploring avenues for cooperation, taking into account the results of the second Körber Emerging Middle Powers Report.
• Addressing historical “blind spots” in the Global North by integrating historical contexts and perspectives of the Global South into the debate on global order and international cooperation. For a better understanding of an increasingly multipolar world.

In cooperation with BRICS Policy Center, Chatham House, FPCI, Gateway House, Oxford University, SAIIA.

Tuesday, 15 April

19:00 – 19:10
Welcome Remarks

By Dino Patti Djalal, Founder and Chairman, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), by Gabriele Woidelko, Head of Department History and Politics, Körber-Stiftung, and by Ina Lepel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Indonesia.

19:10 – 21:00

Welcome Dinner

Wednesday, 16 April

09:00 – 09:30
Registration and Welcome

09:30 – 11:00
The Bandung Spirit & It’s Contemporary Relevance: A Living Framework for Middle Powers?

Inputs by Yayan Ganda Hayat Mulyana, Head of Indonesian Foreign Policy Strategy Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, by Jaqueline A. Braveboy-Wagner, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, City University of New York, and by Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. Chaired by Florian Bigge, Programme Director, History and Politics, Körber-Stiftung and by Julia Ganter, Programme Director, International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung.

11:00 – 11:30
Break

11:30 – 13:00
Sovereignty & Security: Recalibrating Autonomy in a Multipolar Era

Inputs by Natalie Tocci, Director, Institute of International Affairs, Rome, by Wang Hui, Professor, Department of Chinese Literature and History, Tsinghua University, Peking, and by Hafsa Maalim, Political Officer, The Commonwealth Secretariat, Associate Senior Researcher at SIPRI. Chaired by Dino Patti Djalal.

13:00 – 14:00
Break

14:30 – 15:30
A new „New International Economic Order“: Lessons from Post-Colonial Development

Inputs by Ram Singh, Director and Professor, Delhi School of Economics, by Steven Gruzd, Head, African Governance and Diplomacy Programme, South African Institute of International Affairs, and by Carolien Stolte, Associate Professor of History, Institute of History, Leiden University. Chaired by Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director, Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations.

15:30 – 16:00
Break

16:00 – 17:30
Joint Responses on Transnational Challenges: How can Middle Powers Cooperate in a Fragmented World?

Inputs by Nabil Fahmy, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt; Dean Emeritus, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University Cairo, by Paulo Esteves, Associate Professor, Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro; Researcher, BRICS Policy Center, by Swapna Kona Nayudu, Lecturer of Global Affairs, Yale-NUS College. Chaired by Galip Dalay, Senior Consulting Fellow, Chatham House; Doctoral Researcher, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Middle East Council on Global Affairs.

Thursday, 17 April

Workshop „Beyond Bandung: From Dialogue to Action“

14:30 – 14:40
Welcome Remarks

By Galip Dalay and Paulo Esteves.

14:40 – 15:40
Rethinking Non-Alignment for a Multipolar World

Chaired by Galip Dalay.

15:40 – 16:00
Break

16:00 – 17:00
Bridging Non-Alignment and Multilateralism?

Chaired by Paulo Esteves.

Public Event „The Asian-African Conference at 70: Non-Alignment, Multi-Alignment, and the Role of Middle Powers“

15:30 – 15:40
Launch of the Emerging Middle Powers Report 2025

16:10 – 17:30
Moderated Panel Discussion and Q&A with the Audience