On the Cairo Declaration and the Establishment and Reshaping of the Postwar Cultural Order in Asia

World War II profoundly reshaped Asia’s political and cultural landscape. With the decline of European colonial empires and the defeat of Japanese militarism, national liberation movements surged across Asia. As nations fought for political sovereignty, they also faced the task of reestablishing their cultural identity. This paper argues that the Cairo Declaration, as a pivotal international legal document during WWII, not only provided the legal foundation for establishing the postwar political order in Asia but also established regional cultural norms centered on anti-fascism, territorial sovereignty, and respect for cultural diversity. However, this order suffered severe shocks under the Cold War framework, with frequent regional conflicts and bloc confrontation eroding national sovereignty and cultural independence. Against this backdrop, this paper proposes a return to the normative core of the Cairo Declaration to construct an Asian cultural security framework comprising three key elements: respecting sovereign equality and cultural self-determination to rebuild the cornerstone of Asian cultural order; synergistically constructing a post-fascist settlement alongside an Asian human rights system; and transitioning from adversarial narratives to shared values, thereby laying a profound foundation for civilizational dialog that supports regional sustainable development.