Diplomacy as theatre: Staging the Bandung conference of 1955

Modern Asian Studies

Volumn 48, Issue 1, 2014, Pages 225-252

  Shimazu, Naoko ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK; CONFERENCE PROCEEDING; DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS; TWENTIETH CENTURY;

BANDUNG; INDONESIA; WEST JAVA;

EID: 84890957041     PISSN: 0026749X     EISSN: 14698099     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0026749X13000371     Document Type: Article

References (110)

1. Official invitations were accepted by Afghanistan, Burma, Cambodia, Ceylon, China (People's Republic), Egypt, Ethiopia, the Gold Coast, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and Yemen.
2. See, for example, the official Indonesian celebrations surrounding the fiftieth anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference in 2005, Department of Foreign Affairs, Asia Africa: Towards the First Century, Department of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, 2005.
3. For discussions on inviting the People's Republic of China, consult Roeslan Abdulgani, The Bandung Connection: The Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in 1955, Gunung Agung, Singapore, 1981, chapter 5.
4. LIFE, 2 May 1955, pp. 29-37.
5. Carlos P. Romulo, The Meaning of Bandung, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1956, p. 53.
6. George McTurnan Kahin, The Asian-African Conference: Bandung, Indonesia, April 1955, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1956, p. 38.
7. Richard Wright, The Color Curtain: A Report on the Bandung Conference, in his Black Power: Three Books from Exile: Black Power, The Color Curtain; andWhite Man, Listen!,Harper Perennial, New York, 2008, p. 542.
8. See Seng Tan and Amitav Acharya, (eds), Bandung Revisited: The Legacy of the 1955 Asian-African Conference for International Order, NUS Press, Singapore, 2008, p. 3.
9. David A. Wilson, 'China, Thailand and the Spirit of Bandung Part II', China Quarterly 31 (July-September 1967): 96-127.
10. For instance, Guy J. Pauker, 'The Rise and Fall of Afro-Asian Solidarity', Asian Survey 5: 9 (September 1965): 425-432.
11. G. H. Jansen, Nonalignment and Afro-Asian States, Praeger, New York, 1966;
12. G. H. Jansen, 'Postponement of the "Second Bandung"', World Today 21: 9 (September 1965): 398-406.
13. Brenda Gayle Plummer, Rising Wind: Black Americans and US Foreign Policy, 1935-1960, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1996;
14. Cary Fisher, 'An American Dilemma: Race and Realpolitik in the American Response to the Bandung Conference 1955' in Window on Freedom: Race, Civil Rights and Foreign Affairs, 1945-1988, Brenda Gayle Plummer (ed. ), University of North Caroline Press, Chapel Hill, 2003, pp. 115-140.
15. For instance, Kevin K. Gaines, American Africans in Ghana: Black Expatriates and the Civil Rights Era, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2006.
16. On Richard Wright, see Beb Vuyk, 'A Weekend with Richard Wright', PMLA 126: 3 (May 2011): 798-812.
17. Jamie Mackie, Bandung 1955: Non-Alignment and Afro-Asian Solidarity, Editions Didier Millet, Singapore, 2005.
18. There is another important article by Nicholas Tarling, 'Ah-Ah: Britain and the Bandung Conference of 1955', Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 23: 1 (March 1992): 74-111.
19. Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World, The New Press, New York, 2007, p. 45.
20. Tan and Acharya, Bandung Revisited, p. 14.
21. Derek McDougall and Antonia Finnane, (eds), Bandung 1955: Little Histories, Monash University Press, Caulfield, 2010.
22. Finnane's chapter is 'Zhou Enlai in Bandung: film as history in the People's Republic of China', pp. 89-125.
23. Christopher J. Lee, (ed. ), Making a World after Empire: The Bandung Moment and its Political Afterlives, University of Ohio Press, Athens, Ohio, 2010, see in particular his 'Introduction', pp. 1-42.
24. For instance, Matthew Jones, 'A "Segregated" Asia?: Race, the Bandung Conference and Pan-Asianist Fears in American Thought and Foreign Policy', Diplomatic History 29: 5 (November 2005): 841-868; (Pubitemid 41693230)
25. Itty Abraham, 'From Bandung to NAM: Non-alignment and Indian Foreign Policy', Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 46:2 (2008): 195-219;
26. Pang Yang Huei, 'The Four Faces of Bandung: Detainees, Soldiers, Revolutionaries, and Statesmen', Journal of Contemporary Asia 39: 1 (February 2009): 63-86;
27. Sinderpal Singh, 'From Delhi to Bandung: Nehru, 'Indian-ness', and 'Pan-Asian-ness', South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 34: 1 (2011): 51-64.
28. I found particularly illuminating Clifford Geertz, 'Centers, Kings and Charisma: Reflections on the Symbolics of Power', in his LocalKnowledge:Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology, Basics Books, 2000, pp. 121-146.
29. A helpful and relevant collection of essays on the 'independence day ceremonials' can be found in the special issue of The Round Table, 97: 398 (October 2008) edited by David Cannadine.
30. Romulo, Bandung, p. 35.
31. Thomas Postlewait, The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Historiography (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009), pp. 248-249.
32. Thanks to Erik Ringmar for sharing an earlier version of his 'Performing International Systems: Two East-Asian Alternatives to the Westphalian Order', International Organization, 66: 2 (Winter 2012): 1-25.
33. On the general theoretical level, I find Erving Goffman's The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Penguin, New York, 1990
34. Clifford Geertz's oeuvre on symbolic anthropology, and Jeffrey C. Alexander's work in cultural sociology highly instructive.
35. See Jeffrey C. Alexander, Bernhard Giesen, and J. L. Mast (eds), Social Performance: Symbolic Action, Cultural Pragmatics and Action, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2006;
36. and,more recently, Jeffrey C. Alexander's the Performance of Politics: Obama's Victory and the Democratic Struggle for Power,Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2010.
37. My thanks are due to Jeffrey Alexander for his comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
38. The idea of 'international society' is expounded by the English School of International Relations, the most notable work being by Hedley Bull and Adam Watson in their edited volume, The Expansion of International Society, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1984.
39. Naoko Shimazu, 'Places in Diplomacy', Political Geography 31:6 (2012): 335-336.
40. I thank Paul Rae for insightful conceptual discussions on theatre and performance.
41. For his interest in political performance, consult his 'Wayang Studies?' (2011)
42. James Harding and Cindy Rosenthal (eds), The Rise of Performance Studies: Rethinking Richard Schechner'sBroad SpectrumApproach, PalgraveMacmillan, Houndmills, pp. 67-84
43. Matthew Cohen's expertise on the Indonesian wayang theatrical tradition helped me greatly to appreciate its importance in the everyday life.
44. C. L. M. Penders (ed. ), Milestones on My Journey: The Memoirs of Ali Sastroamijoyo, Indonesian Patriot and Political Leader, University of Queensland Press, Queensland, 1979, p. 283.
45. Abdulgani, Bandung Connection, p. 41.
46. Pikiran rakjat, 12 April 1955.
47. Pikiran rakjat is a local Bandung broadsheet, offering a national coverage, with its principal distribution in West Java.
48. It is known as the worker's newspaper.
49. For an interesting study of the Indonesian press, consult Daniel Dhakidae, 'The state, the rise of capital and the fall of political journalism: Political economy of Indonesian news industry,' unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Cornell University, 1991.
50. Abdulgani, Bandung Connection, pp. 44-47.
51. On architecture in colonial Indonesia, Peter J. M. Nas (ed. ), The Past in the Present: Architecture in Indonesia, NAi Publishers, Rotterdam, 2006;
52. Helen Jessup, 'Netherlands architecture in Indonesia, 1900-1924', unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 1988.
53. BERITA Konferensi Asia Afrika, p. 91.
54. One of the few writings in English on the city of Bandung can be found in Chapter 1 of John R. W. Smail's Bandung in the Early Revolution, 1945-1946: A Study in the Social History of the Indonesian Revolution, Modern Indonesia Project, Cornell University, Ithaca, 1964.
55. Howard M. Federspiel, Islam and Ideology in the Emerging Indonesian State: The Persatuan Islam (PERSIS), 1923 to 1957, Brill, Leiden, 2001, pp. 200-201, 235, 237.
56. My thanks are due to Chiara Formichi for helpful discussions on Indonesian political history.
57. Pikiran rakjat, 16 April 1955.
58. Star Weekly, no. 486, 23 April 1955.
59. BERITA, pp. 25-26.
60. Star Weekly, no. 486, 23 April 1955.
61. According to the visual materials shown by Jürgen Dinkel at 'The Cold War and the Postcolonial Moment: Prehistory, Aims and Achievements of the Non-Aligned Movement 50 Years after Belgrade', held jointly at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and the University of Zurich, 3-4 June 2011.
62. Pikiran rakjat, 9 April 1955;
63. Indonesian Observer, 15 April 1955.
64. Indonesian Observer, 15 April 1955.
65. Abdulgani, Bandung Connection, p. 68.
66. Pikiran rakjat, 10 April 1955.
67. See the pamphlet, 'Museum of the Asian-African Conference', Directorate of Public Diplomacy, Department of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, 2007.
68. C. J. van Dullemen, Tropical Modernity: Life and Work of C. P. Wolff Schoemaker, SUN, Amsterdam, 2010, p. 44.
69. Pikiran rakjat, 12 April 1955.
70. Goffman, Presentation, p. 26.
71. Star Weekly, no. 486, 23 April 1955;
72. Wanita, no. 10, year 7, 20 May 1955;
73. Lukisan Dunia, no. 17, year 3, 28 April 1955.
74. Lukisan Dunia, no. 17, year 3, 28 April 1955.
75. Pikiran rakjat, 19 April 1955.
76. Star Weekly, no. 486, 23 April 1955.
77. Buku Peringatan Konperensi Asia-Afrika, Inhua, Jakarta, 1955, p. 30.
78. For works on the significance of dress in political and diplomatic events, consult Jean Allman (ed. ), Fashioning Africa: Power and the Politics of Dress, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2006;
79. Louise Edwards and Mina Roces (eds), Politics of Dress in Asia and the Americas, Sussex Academic Press, Lewis, 2008.
80. Smail, Bandung, p. 7.
81. In this paper, I have followed the convention followed by Jamie Mackie in his edited volume, The Chinese in Indonesia, Thomas Nelson Ltd., Melbourne, 1976, p. ix
82. simply used 'the Chinese' qualified with 'in Indonesia', or 'local Chinese', etc., to distinguish between the Chinese from the People's Republic of China and the Chinese populations in Indonesia.
83. On the Sino-Indonesian Dual Nationality Treaty, see David Mozingo, Chinese Policy toward Indonesia 1949-1967, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1976, pp. 114-120.
84. Star Weekly, no. 486, 23 April 1955.
85. For a recent study of Nehru at Bandung, consult Singh, 'From Delhi to Bandung', pp. 51-64.
86. According to Smail, 'merdeka' was heard in the streets of Bandung in September 1945 in the immediate aftermath of the proclamation of independence by the Republic of Indonesia, together with other revolutionary symbols such as the Dwiwarna (the red and white flag of Indonesia). Smail, Bandung, pp. 49-50.
87. Penders, Milestones, p. 290.
88. Wanita, no. 9, year 7, 5 May 1955.
89. Minggu Pagi, no. 5, year 8, 1 May 1955.
90. Nasser on Social Justice,' From Amembassy (Cairo) to the Department of State, 1 June 1955, RG59, Central Decimal Files, 1955-1959, Box 3681, National Archives and Record Administration (NARA), College Park,Maryland, USA;
91. see also, 'Domestic Scene Characterized by Indecision and Inactivity,' Amembassy (Cairo) to Department of State, 7 October 1955, RG 59, Central Decimal Files, 1955-1959, Box 3681, NARA.
92. Michael J. Braddick (ed. ), The Politics of Gesture: Historical Perspectives, Past and Present, London, 2009, p. 10.
93. William Roosen, 'Early Modern Diplomatic Ceremonial: A Systems Approach', Journal of Modern History, vol. 52, 1980, p. 31.
94. The most famous is his Negara: The Theatre State in Nineteenth-Century Bali, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1980.
95. Confer, also, Adrian Vickers, Bali: A Paradise Created, Periplus, Hong Kong, 1996.
96. Kahin, The Asian-African Conference, p. 49.
97. Incidentally, the term 'Indonesia Merdeka' first came to be used in 1924 as a title of an organ published by Perhimpunan Indonesia (Indonesian Association) established in 1908.
98. Confer, Abu Hanifah, Tales of a Revolution, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1972, p. 222.
99. In a similar manner, one of the first acts enacted by President Sukarno in 1950, after finally seizing control from the Dutch, was to rename Koningsplein to Merdeka Square, and the Dutch Residency to Istana Merdeka (Merdeka Palace), etc.
100. J. D. Legge, Sukarno: A Political Biography, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1972, p. 240
101. Legge, Sukarno, p. 1.
102. Sukarno was a constitutional president under constitutional democracy at the time of the conference. Legge, Sukarno, pp. 262, 275.
103. Franklin B. Weinstein, Indonesian Foreign Policy and the Dilemma of Dependence: From Sukarno to Suharto, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1976, p. 64.
104. Sukarno, Sukarno: An Autobiography as told to Cindy Adams, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis, 1965, p. 299.
105. Legge, Sukarno, p. 7.
106. H. Rosihan Anwar, Bersatulah Asia Afrika: Kenangan Wartawan Senior tentang Konperensi Asia Afrika Bandung, 18-24 April 1955, Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia, Jakarta, 2005, pp. 13-15.
107. Herbert Feith, The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1962), pp. 352, 355-356, 364-365.
108. Rosihan Anwar, Bersatulah, p. 32.
109. Dr Sukarno, Dibawah Bendera Revolusi (Under the Banner of Revolution), Publication Committee, Jakarta, 1966, vol. 2, p. 224.
110. Benedict R. O'G. Anderson, 'The Idea of Power in Javanese Culture', in his Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1990, pp. 61-62.