We Are Not Everyone

The West is no longer the centre of the world. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has changed our view of the global South. We are surprised that nations like India and South Africa are not joining the West in imposing sanctions on Russia. In the context of the newly emerging bloc confrontation between the West and China, the global South has also acquired a new strategic importance. But anyone looking to the global South for support needs to understand its motives and interests. For a long time, multipolarity – i.e. a world order in which not only the USA and Europe but also China, India, South Africa and Brazil and in some cases also Russia have an important role to play – has been a positive future scenario in the global South. In the global South, therefore, international politics is viewed in a very different way than it is in the West, where we perceive the end of the old order and of our own dominance as ‘chaotic’ and thus potentially dangerous. It is worth making an effort to better understand the global South’s view of international politics, because where we have always tended to see risks, there are actually opportunities.

• The global South´s view of international politics

• The authors are experts in Asia and Africa and have a media presence

• Reports based on personal experience

• We need cooperation and understanding, or else we will end up ceding the global South to China