Lhe war in Ukraine revealed a sort of continental drift – and in particular a distancing of the South, which we now call “global”, from the North, the latter coinciding in current geopolitics more or less with the West. Certainly, there is no unity within the Global South. This does not prevent a common source of resentment towards Western powers and a refusal of the policy of sanctions and isolation of Russia. Everything suggests that the crisis shaking the Middle East following the odious attack by Hamas against Israel will further aggravate this divide between the West and the South.
Another major lesson of Russian aggression against Ukraine lies in the insidious obsolescence which has now reached the taboo of the non-use of force, which constituted the very foundation of the United Nations charter. Cases are increasing where, contrary to the provisions of the charter, a State uses force without authorization from the Security Council, as the United States did when invading Iraq in 2003.
We are witnessing what the Franco-Lebanese political scientist Ghassan Salamé calls a “deregulation of the use of force”. The Iranian militias in Iraq or Syria, Turkey intervening in the latter country, China, in its actions of force in the South China Sea, or even Azerbaijan by attacking Nagorno-Karabakh are part of the same logic.
The Hamas attack falls on another register, but it proves, unfortunately, that mass terrorism is in no way curbed, as the defeat of the Islamic State organization might have led us to believe. It confirms that in a world without rules – and without police to enforce them – all so-called “frozen” conflicts risk gradually erupting. Does this state of affairs really correspond to the long-term interest of the countries of the South? Can we also resign ourselves to violations of humanitarian law? In both cases, the answer must be no.
Russian-Chinese blockage at the UN
Furthermore, are Western leaders aware of the need to reconnect with the Global South, and in particular, within it, with the great emerging powers? It’s actually likely. The G7 in Okinawa, in 2022, adopted measures in favor of vulnerable countries. Forgetting its initial roadmap against authoritarian regimes, the Biden administration is doing everything to get closer to India or Saudi Arabia. France held a summit in June on a new international financial pact. The question of reforming the governance of international financial institutions (World Bank, IMF) to take into account the weight gained by the Global South is now raised.
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