The 1955 Bandung Conference remains a landmark event in 20th-century diplomacy, representing the first major international gathering of Asian and African states that had recently gained independence from colonial rule. The conference brought together leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Sukarno of Indonesia, who sought to establish a collective voice independent of the United States and the Soviet Union.

The primary objective of the summit was to promote economic and cultural cooperation while opposing colonialism and neocolonialism in all its forms. By asserting their neutrality, these nations aimed to prevent being drawn into the binary conflicts of the Cold War. The meeting resulted in the 'Bandung Principles,' a ten-point declaration on world peace and cooperation that emphasized sovereignty, equality, and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.

While the conference is often celebrated as the birth of the 'Global South' as a political entity, historical perspectives on its effectiveness vary. Some historians argue that the conference successfully dismantled the narrative that the world was strictly divided between Western and Eastern blocs. Others point out that internal divisions among the participating nations—such as differing views on communism and regional border disputes—limited the long-term unity of the movement. Despite these challenges, the Bandung Conference is widely recognized for shifting the focus of international relations toward the concerns of developing nations, effectively challenging the imperial order that had dominated global politics for centuries.