We in Russia are very fond of appealing to such a concept as the “global majority” – these are countries of the world that link their development to the main trends of globalization, but are capable of expressing their own views on fair forms of international order. Up to now, this notion has been expressed rather discreetly, which is explained by our common participation in a system of relations in which Western countries not only played a leading role, but were also able, until a certain point, to come up with relatively optimal solutions for everyone. Recent events, however – especially the crisis in the Middle East – may open a new chapter in the perception of US and Western European policies by most of the world’s countries and create new conditions that will make a return to the previous world order impossible.
Israel’s confrontational policy does not directly threaten Russia, the US or China – the great powers of the modern world – and they will not be crossing swords over the future of the Middle East region after the events of this autumn. But it would be short-sighted to underestimate the damaging impact of certain features of the West’s chosen position on the credibility of the US and its allies in the eyes of the global community. This means that the conditions under which the international order of the future will emerge are becoming more complex. Let us try to summarize how the countries of the global majority, especially the Islamic part of it, might assess the actions of our American adversaries, their allies in Europe and, most importantly, the consequences of all this for international politics.
As a result of recent discussions with colleagues from the majority countries, it can be said that the most succinct characterization of US behavior is a simple statement: The West is destroying its own previous achievements. The arguments for this assessment go something like this: In recent days, a wave of demonstrations in support of the Palestinians besieged in Gaza has swept the world. While Western leaders have repeated, like a mantra, boilerplate statements of full support and willingness to go to any length for Israel, their own citizens, not to mention the populations of Muslim countries, have protested against a unilateral violent solution to the conflict. These peaceful and so far few actions can reasonably be seen as harbingers of more complex processes that are emerging in the face of the short-sighted policies of the White House and its supporters in Europe.
The most important thing that worries our colleagues in the majority countries of the world is that several narratives that had virtually disappeared in previous years are back on the agenda: The US and the Christian countries of the Old World are primarily responsible for the suffering of Muslims and their destruction in wars and conflicts; they also provoke confrontations that lead to economic crises, hunger, and unemployment in developing countries.
The emergence of such a perception of the West is a complete reversal of the enormous diplomatic efforts made in recent years to strengthen its moral authority. Never mind comments from the likes of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about “gardens” and “jungles.”
No one denies that the US and Western Europe have done much to develop the global market economy. But now, as we can see from the assessments we have heard, they themselves are ruining their own achievements. A large part of the world’s population has become convinced of the boundless cynicism and duplicity of the political elites that the vaunted liberal democratic system has placed at the pinnacle of power. Concerned about the current electoral situation and how it will affect their own career ambitions, the present masters of fate don’t hesitate to throw away the enormous achievements of the past years in building trust in international relations and balancing interests at the global level.
