Some South African political and security analysts are still living in a geopolitical bubble where in their mind, the US is still able to dictate to the globe. Either they are not aware of the unfolding shift to a multipolar world, or they are staunch supporters of Western hegemony.
Although most countries in the global south have condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the UN none of the countries have imposed US and EU-related sanctions on Russia. They see the war in Ukraine as not their war and some are of the view that Ukraine wanting to join Nato is to blame for it.
Saudi Arabia is seen as one of the US’s staunchest allies in the Middle East. When US President Joe Biden requested that the Saudis increase oil output instead of reducing it to bring down the price of oil, the Saudis went ahead and cut oil output, ignoring the US request. Saudi Arabia has also indicated an intention to join BRICS. Iran and Argentina have also filed applications to join BRICS. BRICS comprises 41% of the world population, 24% of the world GDP and has a 16% share in world trade.
The other counterweight to Western influence is the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation which consists of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is described as the world’s largest regional organisation encompassing 60% of the land area in Eurasia with over 40% of the world population responsible for more than 30% of global GDP.
When the West uses the term “the international community” they more than often are referring to the UK, EU and the US and do not recognise the voice of other countries or groupings. Looking at the membership and percentage of the world population represented by BRICS and the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, can anyone truly continue to say that the international community is spoken for by the UK, EU and the US?
None of the BRICS and Shanghai Co-operation Organisation member states have imposed US and EU-related sanctions against Russia, and neither have other countries in the global south. There is no political and economic isolation of Russia and yet some South African political and security analysts are still singing from the US handbook.
Those South African political and security analysts who refer to South Africa as a pariah for its stance on the Ukraine conflict should realise that the UK, EU and the US are the pariahs since their stance regarding sanctions against Russia is not shared by most of the actual international community.
Nato should have been disbanded after the dissolution of the USSR and its military alliance, The Warsaw Pact. The West are the only ones holding on to military alliances while the rest of the world is moving towards organisations which promote economic development and co-operation.
* Ghalied Geduldt, Maitland.
*** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Do you have something on your mind; or want to comment on the big stories of the day? We would love to hear from you. Please send your letters to [email protected].
All letters to be considered for publication, must contain full names, addresses and contact details (not for publication).