The West, the Global South, and the Real Hypocrisy
My last column for Chatham House
My latest column for The World Today is now available online. It touches on the theme that runs through the whole issue of that magazine: the rise of the Global South as pivotal geopolitical players and whether the West, broadly defined, has self-sabotaged in its efforts to keep these countries as partners.
As China and Russia try to woo these countries as well, the concern in places like Washington and London and Brussels and Tokyo is that the West is falling behind. Accusations of hypocrisy in the way that the West has dealt with, oh, I don’t know, let’s say “Ukraine and Gaza” has obviously complicated matters further.
My take is that this way of viewing the global state of play misreads the situation in multiple ways — particularly what countries in the Global South actually want:
Most countries in the Global South do not want to oppose the West. They do not want to oppose anyone. They simply want the freedom to set their own policies free of outside interference. India wants a strong partnership with the US – but it also wants cheap Russian oil.
Turkey does not want to antagonize Russia, but it is not leaving Nato either. Most countries in the Global South would jump at the prospect of becoming a key node between US-based and China-based supply chains. Some countries, such as Vietnam, Bangladesh or Morocco have already made the leap.
As for the accusations of hypocrisy, you’ll have to read the whole thing to see my unvarnished opinion. The condensed version is that the West’s more problematic hypocrisy is the one that affects these countries where they live:
It would also be a mistake for western leaders to believe that acknowledging hypocrisy is the key to winning friends in the Global South. To make a real play for the Global South, western policymakers will need to do something much more difficult – stop acting like they are afraid of goods, services and migrants crossing their borders.
The Global South has embraced globalization at the moment industrialized democracies are having second thoughts. To win the hearts and minds of its members, policymakers need to fatten their wallets.
Unfortunately, this will be my last column for The World Today. Apparently Chatham House has decided they want to turn the magazine into something else. That is a pity, because I was really starting to have some fun writing for them. On the upside, however, that probably means more newsletters for subscribers.
Enjoy!