A Paralyzed World. It’s Time for 3,500 Asia-Africa Cities to Lead
By Farhan Helmy
When states fail, cities must step in to save humanity
On Friday, 27 June 2026 I joined Ustadz Zacki in hosting a radio dialogue on DILANS Voices – Inclusion on Air, where we discussed the wars unfolding across the world and the cascading crises they have triggered. One question lingered: who is actually in control? The more we reflected, the clearer it became, the world is not only in crisis; it is paralyzed.
What we need is not a single world authority as imagined by Thomas Hobbes in his notion of the Leviathan. What is urgently required is a form of global governance that enables collective action in managing shared affairs, while still allowing space for fair representation of diverse interests, especially those of developing countries.
Today’s reality reflects a dangerous absence of meaningful diplomatic breakthroughs.
Nations are increasingly trapped within their respective blocs, each justified by its own strategic logic. Meanwhile, humanity itself is being normalized into abstraction, human lives reduced to statistics, sacrifices rationalized in the name of national interest.
Is there still a way forward?
In many forums, I have argued that the spirit of the Asian-African Conference can once again serve as a beacon for a renewed non-aligned movement, one that is relevant to today’s challenges.
In 1955, leaders from 29 nations gathered in Bandung, united by a shared vision of solidarity and sovereignty in a polarized world. Today, Asia and Africa together are home to approximately 4.5 billion people, over 55% of the world’s population, living across more than 3,500 cities with populations exceeding 100,000. Among them, an estimated 1.3 billion are persons with disabilities and older persons (DILANS).
This represents an extraordinary concentration of human potential, yet it remains largely untapped as a driver of transformation and diplomacy.
Now imagine if these 3,500 cities were not merely statistics, but formed an Asia-Africa Cities Alliance for Inclusive Justice and Sustainable Peace, a collaborative platform that transcends national boundaries. Such an alliance could respond to humanitarian crises through community-based mechanisms, advance city diplomacy where state-led diplomacy has stalled, and integrate Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) with climate action and sustainable development.
This is where real power lies not solely in states, but in cities as the lived spaces of humanity.
Yet despite the presence of global platforms such as UN–Habitat and city networks like United Cities and Local Governments, the role of local governments within the United Nations system remains largely consultative. Mechanisms such as UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities provide valuable input, but they do not yet enable cities to act collectively at the scale that today’s crises demand. In a world where state-led diplomacy is increasingly constrained, this gap is no longer technical, it is structural. What is needed is not another forum, but a shift: from cities as participants to cities as coordinated actors in shaping global responses.
In trying to make sense of this global paralysis, I turned to a habit I have developed over years of working across policy, inclusion, and systems thinking: I draw the system. I began sketching a causal loop diagram, not as a technical exercise, but as a way to scratch beneath the surface of what we are witnessing.
What emerged was striking. The crisis is not chaotic; it is structured. State-led diplomacy is caught in a self-reinforcing stalemate, while cities, despite being closest to people remain systematically under-recognized. But the same map also reveals a different possibility: when cities coordinate, embed inclusion, and act collectively, they can generate a new cycle of trust, legitimacy, and global influence. In other words, the system that produces paralysis can also be rewired to produce power, if we are willing to intervene at the right leverage points.
Figure 1. The Urban Governance Transformation Map: From Paralysis to Power
This visual system map, based on the causal loop analysis in “A Paralyzed World. It’s Time for 3,500 Asia–Africa Cities to Lead” (Farhan Helmy, 2026), illustrates the dynamic forces shaping global urban governance and outlines a strategic transformation pathway for Asia-Africa cities. At its core is a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD), which maps the reinforcing (virtuous) and balancing (stalemate) feedback loops that drive system behavior.
B1 – The State-led Stalemate Loop (Red Arrows):
Declining state-led diplomatic effectiveness (1) and weak UN responsiveness (2) reinforce centralized but ineffective governance, limiting structural recognition of cities (8).
R1 – The City Leadership Loop (Green Arrows):Stronger city coordination (4) increases global influence (6) and drives recognition (8). R2 – The Inclusive Resilience Loop (Purple Arrows):
GEDSI integration (5) strengthens capacity and trust (3), improves outcomes (7), and reinforces legitimacy (6). R3 – The Bandung Catalyst (Orange Dotted Links):The legacy of Konferensi Asia Afrika catalyzes coordination and inclusivity.
Without embedding GEDSI at its core, Asia-Africa risks reproducing patterns of exclusion under a different guise. Persons with disabilities, older persons, women, and other marginalized groups are not merely beneficiaries, they are essential actors in building social, economic, and ecological resilience. The future of Asia-Africa will not be determined by geopolitics alone, but by its capacity to be genuinely inclusive. It is time to think and act more boldly.
Why not position Bandung not merely as a historical symbol, but as a living hub of coordination for a 21st-century Asia-Africa movement? With its legacy rooted in the Asian-African Conference, its vibrant civil society ecosystem, and its strategic position within the Global South, Bandung holds both moral legitimacy and operational potential to play this role.
Meanwhile, the crisis of legitimacy facing the United Nations is becoming increasingly evident, particularly amid the rise of anti-multilateral currents. The world needs a new center of gravity,one that is closer to people, more inclusive, and more morally courageous. The year 2026 marks the 71st anniversary of Asia-Africa. This moment must not remain a ceremonial ritual.
It is a call to history.
To ambassadors, mayors, civil society, academics, and citizens: it is time to move beyond commemoration and begin building. Not merely to remember solidarity, but to reorganize it. Not merely to speak of humanity, but to institutionalize it through collective action. Because today, civilization and humanity are not only being tested, they are waiting for those who are willing to lead.** Farhan Helmy is CEO of Advanced Systems Computing Design and Innovation (ASCODI) Lab, Policy Advisor to The Climate Reality Project Indonesia, Founder of DILANS Indonesia, and an En-ROADS Ambassador. He brings over two decades of national and international experience in environment and natural resources, climate change governance, and community-based initiatives, with a strong focus on inclusive development and systems transformation.
