Department of International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has reflected on what he terms a strange paradigm in geopolitics with a world of international anarchy, where justice does not apply to those without military might and where ethics or idealism have no room.
Lamola, speaking on the challenges and opportunities for Africa, held at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) event on Friday, said the world is in transition.
“We are experiencing a proverbial “crisis moment” in world affairs, which could easily become a “moment of calamity”.
“In this dangerous geopolitical moment, the champions of the liberal international order generally refuse to accept any notions of decline and would resist any attempt to emerge as an alternative, least of all one from the Global South.”
Lamola said the world will have to get through this period. He said South Africa’s election beckons hope for democracy; the manner and pace in which the Government of National Unity was formed are a model for democracy worldwide.
“There comes a time when it is not absolute power that defines us but our collective ability to resolve our challenges and build a foundation of new frontiers for future generations.
“In global politics, we are now witnessing the making of a post-Cold War, with all the hallmarks that it could become an unimaginable hot war, with the Middle East as its centre point. Turbulence, Anarchy and Combustion are the order of the day,” Lamola said.
He said geopolitical rivalries between great powers that obsess with ‘realpolitik and aggressive economic competitiveness, together with adversarial foreign policies and combative diplomacy, are factors driving this global crisis moment’.
He said this was marked by challenges to the contemporary global order
“Those who gave us the multilateral order, including strategic pillars such as the Bretton Woods Institutions, the United Nations, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, are now at the forefront of undermining them.
“Just for one second, imagine what the reaction of the world would be if an African state declared the United Nations Secretary-General a persona non grata like Israel did,” Lamola said.
The Mercury