Does the hosting of a G20 summit in a developing country like South Africa, the first summit held on the African continent, give new meaning to this association of the 'top 20' economies in the world? Or is it merely the starting terminal for the BRICS+ train? Are countries like Indonesia, India, Brazil and now South Africa, developing countries that have become key players, ready to call the so-called developed world to account for its double standards and political machinations that have shattered the global order? Or is this just another ploy to deflect responsibility and fulfill empty political promises?
On 28 July in Pretoria, South Africa, the multilateral 3rd Russia-Africa Conference, hosted by the Russian Valdai Discussion Club and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), discussed Africa's key role in strengthening the emerging alternative geopolitical order. The programme, entitled "Realpolitik Responses in a Fragmented World: Rethinking Russia-South Africa Ties in a Global and African Context" provided much food for thought.
Africa is almost twice the size of Russia and much larger even compared to the total land mass of the former USSR, which was broken up in 1989 after the Cold War, leading to the creation of several new Eastern European states, including Ukraine. Geographically, Russia is located in the northeastern hemisphere of continental Eurasia, while Africa spans all four hemispheres, with Europe as its nearest neighbour, lying centrally between the Americas and Asia.
Politically, Russia is a federation comprising 21 republics, 46 regions, 4 districts and two cities of federal subordination, Moscow and St Petersburg, with a population of approximately 150 million. By contrast, Africa, arbitrarily divided by European colonizers during the Berlin Conference of 1884, today consists of 54 sovereign states, each with its own constitution, capital, government, bureaucracy, and diplomatic protocols. Nearly 2 billion people live on the continent, with a significant young population, of which 70 % are under the age of 30.
Given this historical situation, the emergence and continued expansion of the BRICS grouping more than 15 years ago, along with platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Russia-Africa Forum, signal the emergence of a new global paradigm that is rapidly gaining momentum.
The former USSR was a staunch supporter of African liberation movements during their struggles against repressive colonial regimes. These efforts were recognized and appreciated by the newly independent African states. The USSR's involvement in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola (1987-1988) played a decisive role in the liberation of Namibia and paved the way for South Africa's eventual democratic transition. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the collapse of the USSR and the creation of the Russian Federation, along with 15 newly independent states.
During World War II, Russia faced threats from Nazi Germany in the west and Imperial Japan in the east, and played a key role in the Allied victory - this year marks the 80th anniversary. It was not the first time Russia had resisted European domination; France's Napoleon Bonaparte also failed in his conquest. Today, NATO's aggressive posture is repeating history - and failing again. Despite its European cultural roots and post-Communist efforts at closer alignment with the West, Russia has refocused its global engagement on its longstanding partners in Asia and Africa.
South Africa too has faced antagonism in recent times, despite being a constitutional democracy governed by the principles of equality and justice. The punitive sanctions and threats of diplomatic condemnation for South Africa's foreign policy positions reveal the persistent double standards and misplaced moral authority asserted by some countries in the global North.
The upcoming G20 Summit in Johannesburg needs to address this new global dynamic. As chair of this crucial conference, South Africa has the opportunity to facilitate meaningful dialogue between East and West, North and South. It is a chance for multipolarity and multilateralism to move from rhetoric to engagement in actual realpolitik.
Kirtan Bhana - TDS
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