BALANCE OF POWER: A PIE IN THE SKY

We live in an unfair world, in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few rich and powerful nations. ey rule the roost. eir word is law. When they wish it, they create so-called multilateral institutions. And then they tell us of a ‘rules-based’ world order! Such audacity, and sheer arrogance! Rules, whose rules, when the rest of the world community did not participate in the formulation of those rules? At the helm of this international scam sits the undemocratic United Nations Organisation (UN) – a by-product of the so-called World War II – I say so-called because whenever Europe or the Americas goes to war among themselves they classify these as ‘world events’. at can also be seen in the way they describe their sports games – they carry an air of superiority – their players are known as ‘world’s best’ and their leagues carry the same airs! It’s so nauseating when one nation places itself on a pedestal at the expense of the rest of humanity. Before this United Nations, the organisation was known as the League of Nations, and even then it was still undemocratic as it was not representative of the world before 1948. For us Africans this body was meaningless, since colonialism was the order of the day.

In-fact, you’ll realise that these institutions were designed to maintain the status-quo. ey were not created to dismantle segregation, oppression, colonialism, discrimination, slavery, bigotry or injustice wherever they existed, because the greatest perpetrators were the people sitting on the seats of power of those same institutions. is has continued into the present-day, as we can see with the UN, whose fivemember Security Council (UNSC) is presided over by bloodthirsty imperial powers, neo-colonisers, and wanna-be colonisers! Ask yourself why would these five permanent members (and what’s so special about them that they should be the permanent members of a world body) create adjunct institutions and fail to honour their decrees? Take for example, the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court! Many developing countries have expressed outrage that the ICC specifically targets them while turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed by the powerful nations that hold the balance of power! Now which ‘rules-based’ order do these nations talk about? It is the Washington Consensus and its Coalition of the Willing. is has rendered the UN a tool at the disposal of the US to use when it’s purposeful and discard when it serves no interest. Look at what this warped version of international security or world order has landed us in! We are now on the brink of a major conflagration – one that will surely merit the World War designation! At the rate that the United States is aiding and abetting Israel and its wave of atrocities against the Palestinians in Gaza, as well as daring other Arab nations – it will infuriate other powerful nations – especially Russia and China – to come to the aid of the weaker nations being bullied in the so-called Middle East. We don’t know what this area is ‘middle’ from? But what we know is that the most powerful nations have set it up as their strategic base – a launch-pad for their final battle for supremacy and world hegemony. Following the Israeli attack of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, we have this week witnessed a revenge attack on Israel by Iran. Obviously, Israel is hoping that the US will come to its aid. But can Israel afford another war with Iran while it’s still grappling with Hamas in Gaza? But the big question is, will the US dare to support Israel in such an adventure when it already has its hands full in Gaza and Ukraine? What President Joe Biden must do for now is to concentrate on taming his nemesis on the home-front, Donald Trump, who despite the legal hurdles confronting him, seems destined to snatch the presidency come November! Biden should call Benjamin Netanyahu to order, impress upon him the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and open the corridors to allow humanitarian aid to flow in and thereby prevent an ongoing genocide that is daily playing out before the eyes of the world on screens and telephones! But then we know this is wishful thinking. e truth is that the Jewish lobby is the most powerful in the United States, which through its financial muscle, decides the outcome of US elections. Biden is therefore beholden to them, and is bound to stick with Israel through thick and thin, parroting that refrain – ‘Israel has a right to defend itself’, as if other nations don’t deserve this right. But I am afraid, with Iran now drawn into the fray, it’s a different ball game altogether. We must recall that Iran has now joined the BRICS Union as a full member. For obvious reasons, fellow BRICS members – Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates (I can’t vouch for India and Egypt), will eventually come to Iran’s aid.

And when that happens, a full-scale war will erupt and a new world order will be fashioned out of the ruins of that war! at is if sanity will not prevail. And what’s the source of that sanity? It is the three global initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping – these being the Global Development Initiative (GDI); the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilisations Initiative (GCI) – all of which are predicted on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In my talks with some of the Chinese academics, I have wondered to what extent are these initiatives being integrated in multilateral institutions such as BRICS, and the regional economic communities – ASEAN, Mercusor, EU, AU, etal? But they have failed to give me a proper answer, it seems China doesn’t want to be seen as ‘imposing’ but my take is that this is a battle of ideas – and China’s peaceful development based on the respect of its cultural heritage is a lesson for humanity that we can coexist in the diversity and plurality of our civilisations, bound by a common affinity to humanity! We must adopt this alternative to escape the terrible eventuality staring us in the eye! It is our only hope for the reformation of the UN and the making of a new inclusive world order.