Localising the spirit of Bandung? City diplomacy and the Global South’s struggle for a just and equitable world order

This chapter analyses the role of city diplomacy in localising the legacy of the Bandung Conference. Drawing on the examples of Porto Alegre in Brazil and Johannesburg in South Africa, I show how cities in the Global South have used their internationalisation to champion the social justice agenda embodied in the Bandung spirit. However, I argue that city diplomacy as a mechanism for localising the Global South’s struggle for justice and equality faces significant challenges, which are reflected in the often ephemeral nature of this form of global activism and solidarity. The chapter reflects on some of these constraints, chief among which is the disciplining power of the dominant neoliberal paradigm, which as seen in the pervasive influence and world-making capacity of the global city concept, limits the imagination and pursuit of alternative forms of urbanisation and internationalisation.