Andrea Benvenuti
Nehru’s Bandung
This paper will explore Nehru’s role in organising the 1955 Bandung Conference and explain the nature, rationale, and development of his policy. In doing so, it also examines the concerns and calculations that drove a sceptical Nehru to support Indonesia’s diplomatic push for such an Afro-Asian conference. In this context, I argue that Nehru’s support for an Asian-African conference did not stem from an emotional commitment to Afro-Asian internationalism; rather, it arose from a desire to address some significant Indian Cold War concerns.
Andrea Benvenuti is an Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Educated at Florence University, Monash University and Oxford University, Andrea Benvenuti teaches twentieth-century international history and diplomacy. His research interests lie in post-1945 international history, with a strong focus on the Cold War in Asia and Europe. His recent publications include Nehru’s Bandung: Non-Alignment and Regional Order in Indian Cold War Strategy (2024). He is currently working on a new book project titled Nehru and Sukarno and the Struggle for the Leadership of Postcolonial Asia, 1949-1965.