Indonesia’s South–South cooperation: when normative and material interests converged

Abstract

This article analyzes how and why contemporary Global South countries’ South–South cooperation (SSC) exhibits a convergence between normative and material interests. The normative approach underlines that SSC is driven by a country’s experience with colonialism and underdevelopment. SSC is perceived as a mechanism to alter the Global South’s asymmetrical relations with the dominant Global North. The material approach highlights the strategic values of SSC for Southern powers. Through SSC, Southern countries desire to improve their reputation, garner support from other South countries in international fora, and pursue their own broader economic agendas. By utilizing domestic politics analysis, Indonesia’s experience shows that a more pragmatic approach to SSC reflects a broader transformation of Indonesia’s domestic political configuration. While Indonesia’s early practices of SSC prefer normative over material interests, the country’s current policies display a convergence of its material and normative interests, which signifies the emergence of ‘interest-based Third World solidarity’.