THE RISE AND FALL OF AFRO-ASIAN SOLIDARITY,

The postponement of the Second Afro-Asian Conference is discussed in terms of its political significance. The author concludes that the decision to postpone the meeting was a clear victory for the moderate elements in the Afro-Asian world. While Communist China and Indonesia suffered a major diplomatic defeat, the Soviet Union gained indirectly by avoiding an unpredictable test of strength. India quietly asserted again the leading role it had seemingly lost in recent years, and solidarity among African and Asian countries on the basis of past membership in the imperial systems of the West proved surprisingly strong. The question that remains is whether in the light of their experience in Algiers, the new nations will realize that the United Nations, despite its inherent weaknesses, is for them a better meeting ground than spurious solidarity meetings prometed by radical demagogues.