Let Africa realign strategically in a multipolar world

The unipolar world with USA as the hegemon is on a steady decline, leading to emergence of other global powers who are not only filling the gap but also offering alternative models of development and governance.

Like during the Cold War, African countries find themselves contending with the dilemma of whether to stick with the declining hegemony or craft partnerships with emerging powers like Russia and China. Recently, the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) expanded to include countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (BRICS+). Following recent coups in the Sahel, traditional allies like the US and France are being replaced by Russia.

While the Western-led hegemony is in decline, its ideals are deeply entrenched worldwide, though increasingly challenged lately. The UN, especially the structure and functioning of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), has also demonstrated over time that multilateralism faces decline as states become more concerned with populist, domestic issues and nationalism as opposed to global affairs.

Post-World War II

The permanent UNSC seats is no longer tenable, that being a post-World War II design with realities having since significantly shifted. There is a need to include the African Union (AU), clearly relegated to the periphery when the UN was created in 1945 as the countries were then Western colonies. The inclusion of AU to the elitist G20 group to make it G21 shows Africa’s increasing role in the global order.

As the Cold War unfolded, many African countries chose to remain in the Non-Aligned Movement, arguing that they had more pressing issues and no time and luxury to engage in the ideological war then pitting the US and former USSR, led by Russia. Africa has mostly remained neutral and pragmatic, preferring to work with all other state actors willing and seeking mutual partnership regardless of their ideological orientation.

As bipolarity ushered in a unipolar world following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the disintegration of the USSR in 1991, in what Francis Fukuyama would describe as “The end of history”, the world, had no option but adopt the Western liberal democracy that was expected to establish universal norms in governance and economics.

Unfortunately, Western neoliberal views and norms did not take root as expected, especially in Africa. But the neoliberal hegemony succeeded in connecting Africa to the international monopoly capital, though unable to bring economic prosperity to majority of African peoples. In contrast, despite adopting ‘state capitalism’, China has uplifted millions of its citizens from poverty.

Africa must find its footing on the global stage without having to exclusively align itself to any major global actor. The age of a unipolar world has steadily moved towards a multipolar one and Africa must be strategic and pragmatic in its approach so as to optimally benefit from these realignments. It’s time to rethink governance and economic models that meet the African realities with “African solutions to African problems” as the mantra.

Dr Peter Kirui, PhD, is a lecturer at University of Eldoret and InteRussia Fellow at MGIMO University, Moscow. [email protected].