1 Bandung Spirit and Middle Power Diplomacy: The Need for International Networking in Contemporary Indonesia’s Foreign Policy 1 Mohamad Rosyidin Universitas Diponegoro Abstract Non-Aligned Movement was undoubtedly the greatest legacy of Bandung Conference in 1955. It has been questioned since the world is no longer bipolar but multipolar in which there is no single dominant power rules the world. Nevertheless, the long-lasting spirit of the Bandung Conference is cooperation among developing countries or South-South Relations. The cooperation is the manifestation of middle power diplomacy in the 21 st century to challenge the West as exemplified by BRICS, IBSA, and so forth. Indonesia seems uninterested in getting involved in these forums although international community increasingly recognize its role and status in international affairs. This is an big irony since Indonesia was one of initiators as well as host country during Bandung Conference. This paper argues that Indonesia should be more receptive to catch any opportunities by increasing active role in South-South Relations. It will not violate ‘free and active’ doctrine of Indonesia’s foreign policy as far as Indonesia could maintain balance of identity between developing country and strategic partner for the West. Participation within these forums can be regarded as an effort to build international networking as a new source of power in the 21 st century. This paper specifically suggests that the new elected goverment of Indonesia should reinterpret middle power diplomacy by building international networking as an integral part of Indonesia’s foreign policy strategy. Keywords: Indonesia’s foreign policy, South-South Relations, middle power diplomacy, international networking, balance of identity Introduction The Asian-African Conference, or simply the Bandung Conference is one of the most important milestone in the 20 th century international politics. The forum represents the spirit of developing countries to play more active role in the midst of great powers rivalry between The West and The East. Obviously, Bandung Conference inspired by 1 Paper presented at the international conference on Bandung Conference and Beyond: Rethinking International Order, Identity, Security, and Justice in A Post-Western World, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, 8-10 April 2015. The author would like to thank Nadia Farabi for her valuable comments and reviews of this earlier draft.