Having spent the last fifty years or so portraying itself as the anointed protector of the world, the last thing that the West would wish for is for stability to prevail in other regions while it disintegrates. And yet, as Europe gathers itself to patch up what is left of the NATO rags, this is exactly the place in which it finds itself.
Relatedly, it is more plausible that the inward looking frameworks being passed in the United States of America e.g. foreign aid cuts have more to do with a realization that her economy no longer has what it takes to pursue these ventures than the supposed misspending concerns.
The big mistake of the North that culminated into the harsh reality that the countries in the bloc now have to contend with, was a failure to appreciate the nuances associated with the developing world. Having landed on a couple of blanket terms one of which is “global south”, western politicians blinded themselves from a multiplicity of synergetic factors (say natural resources, geography, and population dynamics) existing in the over 100 emerging economies and so they underrated them– if not ignoring them altogether.
This meant that even countries in Asia, the Caribbean, or Africa whose governments were initially sympathetic to western ideologies found difficulty in communicating to the developed world unless they were picked on for strategic interests. An alternative had to be found thus, and it was. Most importantly, it is a model that works.
The trajectory onto which the once disenfranchised countries have set ever since is that of cooperation and it was best articulated by President Xi Jinping of China at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last year as one that seeks to see “100 flowers” blossom in stark contrast to the usual hegemonic tendencies of super powers.
To this end, ensuing progress can be measured by the fact that several players in this new way of conducting international relations have leveraged domestic capabilities to support their compatriots who could otherwise not accomplish certain objectives. Like China’s Xi Jinping, Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been a big advocate of the admission of the African Union into the G20 grouping. Guided by her desire of building a community of shared prosperity for mankind, China has gone out of its way to support the economic development of African nations. As it stands then, the country has single-handedly lent more money to the continent than that given out by the World Bank, IMF, USA, Britain, France, and Germany combined.
If you are a numbers person, then I have some for you to crunch as they show strength on the economic front as well. By the end of 2024, the total GDP of the founding BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) was more than that of the G7 economies. Expanding to all the countries making up the global south, they makeup 40% of global GDP today and 80% of economic growth. Inter-trade relations amongst these countries have also seen a boom as the consumption capacity in the West continues to fall. So in 2023, China’s exports to her allies exceeded what the country shipped to Europe and the United States.
With such facts and commitment among some major powers showing unwavering support for the global south, one can safely argue that the days for West’s global hegemony are numbered, multipolarity is unstable. As observed by Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee who doubles as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi as he engaged the media, the cooperation of the Global South will create the necessary environment needed for prosperity and growth of not only the global south but the entire world. “As the world is undergoing great transformation unseen in a century, historic changes are taking place in the East-West and South-North dynamics. The Global South holds the key to bringing stability to the world and making it a better place,” Wang Yi told news reporters.
In order to consolidate these gains and harness future prospects, formal and informal forums have been created e.g. the Shanghai Cooperation and Voice of Global South summits in another clear demonstration of a bold vision. Under these arrangements, care has been taken to ensure that members are best positioned to contribute in the best way that they can for the common interest of everyone involved. The admission of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to BRICS for instance, introduced the element of oil wealth in the organization. It is not surprising then that the membership of these umbrellas has been rising up dramatically in the last couple of years.
While the future for the global south looks promising, as Chinese adage say, “众志成城”, loosely translated as “a united will can build a fortress” or “unity brings strength,” as global south gatheres efforts needed to build an ideal world, unity among the grouping members will play a pivital role. This was ephasized by Wang Yi as he addressed the media observing that, ‘the Global South should stand together in unity. This year, China will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, Brazil the BRICS summit, and South Africa the G20 summit. We should speak in one voice to the world, safeguard our common interests, and steadily increase our representation and voice in global governance.”
With this momentum increasing further and further, the West is reluctantly coming to admit that it might very well not have what it takes to reckon with it. In a 2023 United Kingdom defense review for example, the government affirmed that there was a looming shift in the tide of geopolitics. Too bad for them if they find no recourse.
The writer is a research fellow at the Development Watch Centre.
