Both the BRICS and Bandung revivalism need tough critiques – not quasi-cults
by PATRICK BOND
How to interpret these inspiring words, by one of the most eloquent, prolific exponents of Global South politics and economic development, Vijay Prashad?
The New Bandung Spirit is about Industrial Development“… The original [BRICS] members – Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa – came together in 2009 in response to the US housing market’s subprime crisis that signalled to them the end of the United States as the buyer of last resort for their goods and services. Talk of South-South cooperation in the decades before 2009 had not been taken too seriously; but after the financial crisis morphed into a long period of low growth rates, impacted deeply by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it became clear that South-South trade might be the way out for the large economies of the Global South. It made sense to expand the BRICS with the addition of the major energy-producing countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) as well as large economies in their regions (Egypt, Ethiopia, and now Indonesia)… Indonesia will host a low-profile event to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in June. The ‘Bandung Spirit’ is not being widely advertised these days, partly because of the lingering internal problems among Global South states. It seems far more logical to simply allow the contradictions of the present to generate their own new spirit, with the fight to establish sovereignty over a nation’s resources at the center of this new mood.”
There are some good and some bad arguments in this passage. Consider, in the pages below, an extended rewrite of those words, given that there are obviously correct observations (repeated verbatim in bold –and see Prashad’s full analysis here), together with what I see as incorrect or misleading assertions. The latter may create the impressions that BRICS leaders are opponents of neo-liberal corporate dominance; that Indonesia as host for Bandung’s 70th anniversary is appropriate; and that its new president Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo is potentially an ally of progressives who desire cleaner extractive-sector policies, to properly industrialize.
Prashad wrote the passage above and with his usual charisma, reiterated the points orally on George Galloway’s Mother Of All Talk Showson April 19:
Prashad: “Ever since the collapse of the Western economies because of the subprime economic crisis, there has been a resurrection, in a way, of the countries of the Global South, led by China. And this has created a new kind of spirit. It’s not the same as Bandung, I don’t think we should be naive or nostalgic about it. There is definitely a new mood in the Global South. It’s not a repeat of Bandung, but it’s important for us to remember Bandung in order to understand the developments taking place nowadays.” Galloway: “Amen to that. Does BRICS in any way represent something of the spirit of Bandung? It’s a collection not only of poor countries of course. Some of the richest countries in the world are now members of BRICS. But is it informed or moved by the same kind of spirit? Prashad: “You see, it’s really interesting, George because in 2007-08 there was this major financial crisis in the United States and in Europe, and these countries really have never recovered from it. This financial crisis was deepened by the COVID pandemic and then further by the war in Ukraine. It’s not really recovered. You can see that the Trump tariffs are going to hurt a little bit, if he puts them back into effect for Europe and other places. But it’s not like Europe has had a boisterous growth rate for the last decade or so. It’s been in really bad shape. For this reason, countries like India, China, Indonesia and so on decided, ‘Look we can’t rely on Europe and the United States to buy our goods and services. We’re going to have to start selling to each other.’ And that was the impetus in 2009 for the first BRICS meeting. Ever since then the BRICS has largely talked about trade: increasing trade South to South. This has been very important. The Belt and Road Initiative from China is very much a part of this.”
In contrast, I argue below, notwithstanding Prashad’s unparalleled experience in global-justice advocacy, he runs the risk of raising expectations and promoting alliances that will set back international and local progressive politics. One false hope is that Prabowo – formerly the son-in-law of Soeharto during the notorious dictator’s last five years of rule – can and will revive the spirit of Bandung. Other unrealistic expectations are Indonesia adopting a constructive version of what’s termed ‘resource-nationalism’; or ‘industrial development’ emerging merely from the predatory corporate extraction of the world’s largest nickel reserves (by the likes of the notorious Brazilian multinational corporation Vale), often opposed by local residents; or the BRICS keeping progressive promises of South-South trade, based on past performance.
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The New Bandung Spirit Is About Industrial Development
by VIJAY PRASHAD
In January 2025, Indonesia – the world’s fourth-largest country by population (282 million) with the seventh-largest Gross Domestic Product by purchasing power parity – joined the BRICS+ bloc. Eleven countries are now in this expanded grouping. The original members – Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa – came together in 2009 in response to the US housing market’s subprime crisis that signalled to them the end of the United States as the buyer of last resort for their goods and services.
Talk of South-South cooperation in the decades before 2009 had not been taken too seriously; but after the financial crisis morphed into a long period of low growth rates, impacted deeply by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it became clear that South-South trade might be the way out for the large economies of the Global South. It made sense to expand the BRICS with the addition of the major energy-producing countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) as well as large economies in their regions (Egypt, Ethiopia, and now Indonesia).
Indonesia’s entry into the BRICS+ comes during the 70th anniversary year of the Asian-African Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955. That conference generated what was then called the ‘Bandung Spirit’, a sensibility for the need of the newly freed countries from colonialism to set their own path for development. The communiqué that was published on the last day of the 1955 conference called for the ‘promotion of mutual interests and cooperation’, which would later be known as South-South Cooperation. The Bandung process created two institutions to carry forward this principle: the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), formed in 1961, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), formed in 1964. While the NAM pushed for an agenda of peace against the Cold War, UNCTAD tried to forge an agenda for development. These two terms – peace and development – framed the Bandung Spirit. Whereas the advancement of both had been curtailed for the poorer countries of the world over the past seven decades, the emergence of the BRICS+ revives some of that hope from 1955.
Canary in the Nickel Mine
Nickel is a metal that is found in two types of ores – sulphides and laterites. It became a key part of the world’s industries with the growth of the stainless-steel industry (about two-thirds of global nickel production is still used to make stainless-steel that is used in everything from building construction to medical equipment). With the pressure to decarbonise, there has been greater interest in the role of nickel in producing lithium-ion batteries for high-performance electric vehicles. The best quality nickel – Class 1 – is found in Russia, Canada, and Australia, where the nickel comes from sulphide ores. Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer, but it produces Class 2 nickel from laterite ores (and so sells mainly into the stainless steel market). Chinese private companies such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt have built large High-Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) facilities in Indonesia to convert laterite into battery-grade nickel. If the process of HPAL scales up, it would make Indonesia the largest producer of Class 1 nickel by 2030.
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