Imperialist hegemony loses ground against the determined global south and BRICS countries
LESOLLE PHALATSI
Unfolding in our midst today is the manifestation of the teachings made by revolutionaries and freedom fighters some time ago, nobody could have guessed that it shall come to pass in our time.
The revelation of the Prophecy of Chairman Mao Zedong, where he likened the United States Imperialism to a “paper tiger” is nigh.
At the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late eighties, during and post President Reagan’s, the global primacy of the United States left no modicum of doubt. All metric measures of power that one would contemplate, pointed to a huge American domination on the economy, science, technology, military and education.
The world had never known that such power could be wielded by one power. The commanding position of the United States of America in the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutes, International Monetary Fund and World Bank was unambiguous.
The recent indiscriminate diplomatic and aid theatrics by the United States of America, is a perspicuous sign of the falling apart of the proverbial “paper tiger.” The dominance of one power, better known as unipolarity, has seemingly come to definitive end in the current geopolitics.
One does not need a sharp cosmic view to realize that the tectonic plates of power have shifted. Over the past two decades, the fundamental transformation has taken place in the global economy caused by the impressive economic growth of developing countries like China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
The economic center of gravity is inexorably moving towards the developing South. The remarkable upsurge in cooperation between developing countries characterized as South-South cooperation must be understood as part of this larger progressive story.
Unlike the case of North-South cooperation, in global South-South Cooperation, member countries do not treat and regard each other as donors and recipients instead such engagement is an expression of solidarity born out of shared experiences and empathy to others, guided by the principle of respect for sovereignty and national conditions of each and every country.
The obtaining spirit in this cooperation resonates with the words of Julius Kambarage Nyerere who was the Chairman of the precursor to Global South called South Commission, Mwulimu as he was affectionately known, said “we cannot, unlike other countries, send rockets to the moon. But we can send rockets of love and hope to all our fellow humans wherever they may be.”
The new approach of southern countries is typified by the more proactive participation of the Global South in global affairs, which has formed a strong constraint on hegemony, Cold War thinking, and bloc politics.
The countries of the Global South seek a more just, rational, equitable, and representative international order so as to achieve an external environment that is more peaceful and stable, and more conducive to their own sustainable development.
To this end, the countries of the Global South are gradually coalescing into a united international political and economic force that is actively engaged in global governance to build an equitable, prosperous, and sustainable world.
The collective rise of emerging economies represented by the BRICS countries has changed the backward appearance of the Global South, and the modernization process of the vast and populous Global South, with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as its main component, is profoundly shaping the future of human civilization.
In the global south, especially on the SADC region, US hegemony flexed through aid is not a new concept, Zimbabwe was hit by all manner of sanctions, embargoes and deprivations possible to mankind plunging it into a chaos but it recovered and it has shown that countries can live a life free from hegemony exercised through aid.
The recent diplomatic rant between South Africa and the United States of America has been long time coming. South Africa sustained one of the longest irksome stances of engaging the United States directly whenever it has a fundamental bone to pick.
South Africa openly opposed and agitated against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the pillaging and disparaging war against Libya and Muammar Gaddafi, challenging US on Zimbabwe sanctions, Zimbabwe regime change as well as fighting the idea of military attack against Zimbabwe.
The withdrawal of Aid and the expulsion of Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from the United States of America is a bitter retaliation of the US against South Africa’s arraignment of Israel in international Criminal Court and South Africa’s persistent opposition to the United States’ handling of the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Lesotho has portrayed a very grim self-image where it comes to the hegemony of the US through aid, be it the Millennium Challenge Account or trade opportunities like AGOA.
While it is an undeniable truth that Lesotho deems itself the least of the least developed countries, the current trends and the future outlook of the Global South economy should give Lesotho hope to hang on and avoid the recurrent trap of the west’s “dead aid” according to a book by Dr Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian Economist.
American aid, in particular, has become a Pie in the sky with the promises never being fulfilled or only a laughable fraction being delivered.
The empty cheese phenomena are the common show-off and public pledging in summits and conferences by the US, which is never followed by action and implementation.
The above-mentioned tactics of US aid, including disrupting budgets, economic planning and fiscal stability by reneging on agreed terms of aid and arbitrarily withdrawing aid, are occurrences that have become commonplace.
Throughout the vicissitudes of time, The United States has always prided itself as the world’s largest foreign aid donor. However, in fact, US foreign aid has always been driven by realist theories of its own national interests, and never treated developing countries as equals.
The United States political scientist Hans Morgenthau, the father of the realist theory of international relations, pointed out that “foreign aid is no different from diplomatic or military policy or propaganda. They are all weapons in the political armory of the nation.”
The United States regards Westernization as the sole path for the underdeveloped countries to achieve development, coerces developing nations into fitting a one-size-fits-all mold, and pushes them onto someone else’s development path.
The “America First” which is deeply influenced by populism and conservatism and advocated by the United States administration, ignores the United States’ responsibility as a developed country to narrow the North-South divide and other development issues.
The United States is good at using aid as a bargaining chip and using “carrot and stick” to force developing countries to do what they say, which results in a serious lack of coherence in its aid policy and undermines the sustainable development of recipient countries.
Thomas Dichter, former Peace Corp member and country director who has worked in more than 60 developing countries for 50 years pointed out in his article published at Foreign Service Journal, it is commonly criticized that if the key variables for development, including cultural, social and political realms, are not present, aid will not only be ineffective but also create dependency.
The recent United States of America’s move to hastily withdraw, reduce or even cut contributions to important health programs without giving enough time for recipient countries to adjust, prepare as well as seek alternative financing sources and streams is tantamount to switching off the life support machine on patients at the time such support is the only source of sustaining their heartbeats, their lives; an inhumane and selfish resolution meted out and brought to bear on recipient nations.
In July 2023, China put forward a four-point proposal on strengthening cooperation among the countries of the Global South, that is, they should work together on eliminating conflict and building peace, restoring vitality and promoting development, being open and inclusive and seeking common progress, and achieving unity and cooperation.
Under the general framework of building a community with a shared future for mankind, General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), giving further response to the universal aspiration of all peoples for peace, development and cooperation, and offering China’s solutions to the common problems facing humanity today.
The above-mentioned three global initiatives and the concept of jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind are all the proposals made by China and are highly compatible with the Global South’s view of the international order, which demonstrate the bright prospects for China to work hand in hand with the Global South.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a vivid example of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and a global public good and cooperation platform provided by China to the world. The BRI is an initiative for economic cooperation, not for geopolitical or military alliances. It is an open and inclusive process that neither targets nor excludes any party.
Rather than forming exclusionary cliques or a “China club”, it aims to help China and the rest of the world to seize opportunities and pursue common development.
Rather than a private route for any one party, it is a broad path that can be joined by all interested countries to work together for shared benefits.
The Global South Cooperation is not naive, it is alive to the reality that the imperialism will not go down without a fight, the United States and the West have been strengthening their influence in the Global South by building ideological ties, promoting the “nearshoring” and “friend-shoring” of supply chains, and launching global infrastructure initiatives, thus creating a situation in which international forces compete for the Global South.
The “paper tiger” allegory as Chairman Mao Zedong opined is no longer just a thought but a feasible reality, we all can visualize what he saw in his mind’s eye as he narrated that “In appearance it is very powerful but in reality it is nothing to be afraid of, it is a paper tiger.
Outwardly a tiger, it is made of paper, unable to withstand the wind and the rain. I believe the United States is nothing but a paper tiger.”
Most of us who read the history of African politics always think deeply what and how the pioneer, the black star of Africa the late President Kwame Nkrumah would have felt if he was with us today, his strong thoughts against imperialism still linger in our minds, he posited that “For my part, I must say that as long as I live, and as long as any little vestige of colonialism and imperialism remains in Africa, I shall prosecute a ruthless war on these monsters, a war in which there shall be no truce.
Colonialism and imperialism have no honour, no shame, no morals and conscience.”
