President Putin’s speech and his six principles were inspiring to all countries that are looking forward to a new world based on dignity for all and mutual respect of interests, cultures, and security. Reaching such world and making it a living reality is a collective responsibility. The strong participation of the Global South is inevitable and a duty at a critical moment in human history.
At the Valdai meeting last October, in a speech considered the most important since his famous one at the 2007Munich Conference, President Putin elucidated six principles that would govern the international relations and shape the global dynamics in a new era. These principles include an open interconnected world, true cultural civilisational diversity, collective decisions, universal security, justice, and equality. The principles meet the aspirations of the global majority for structural change that provides fair and equal opportunities for all without domination or exclusion. They are expressing the pulse of the global majority, especially the Global South, that has long wished a more just, equitable, and prosperous world. President Putin’s speech came as a charter for the new international order with answers to all questions that have long preoccupied politicians, academics, and global public opinion about the new world, which has become a reality and is maturing much faster than many have expected. These principles are the only path to world peace and sustainable stability. The absence of justice and constructive dialogue, double standards, the West’s exploitation of other nations’ wealth, its political and cultural hegemony, and its attempt to obliterate their identity led to conflicts that exhausted the entire world. It is time to lead the world towards peace, stability and prosperity for all.
The practical implementation of these principles requires working within the framework of three main integrated pillars. The first, and perhaps the most important, is economic one. The economy is the driving force of change. Historically, the turning points in the world order have always been associated with major economic transformations. The rise and fall of great powers were primarily linked to the state of their economies. The end of World War II with the American nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, was preceded by an economic nuclear bomb that destroyed the world economic order based at that time on pluralism. Washington launched Bretton Woods’s system in 1944, taking the advantage of the European economies and governments’ collapse amid the the war, to dominate the world economy.
Moreover, it is not possible to imagine a world with more equitable opportunities and security without an economic system free from the selfish hegemony of a single country that has controlled the global economy for almost eight decades and harnessed it to serve its interests exclusively. Washington has tightened its control over the global economy through triple mechanisms. The absolute dominance of the US dollar over all commercial transactions, the SWIFT system for financial transfers, and the institutions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). Russia and China together are driving structural changes in the international economic system, bilaterally and through the BRICS group. This is ongoing by the de-dollarization and complete abandonment of the US dollar in trade and commercial transactions through a steady shift towards the use of local currencies. Developing alternative financial transfer systems to SWIFT and integrating the national payment and financial transactions systems including the Russian SPFS, the Chinese CIPS, the Indian SFMS, and the Brazilian Pix. Establishing alternative financial institutions to IMF and WB as well, i.e. the New Development Bank (NDB), BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The Global South has to join such efforts and participate effectively in these procedures to empower them as global stream ends the American monopoly. That would help moving to a more just economic dynamics based on the win-win principle. The exploitation of Global South wealth is no longer possible in tomorrow’s world, where partnership is on an equal footing between all countries moving together towards development and prosperity. In this context, it is important to expand the membership of the BRICS, the New Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Networking of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Belt and Road Initiative, and Mercosur is of great importance to maximizing economic benefits. Concluding free trade agreements between those frameworks and emerging economies of the Global South, especially African countries, is important for the economic integration of the global majority into the new world order.
Secondly, the cultural, social and media pillar. Cultural hegemony and the monopoly of information have no less repercussions than the dominance of world economy. Ending cultural superiority under the pretext of globalization is a cornerstone for building a new world order. Imposing western values on the entire world and obscuring people’s identity is destructive. Respecting diversity and cultural specificity of all nations is a basic foundation of the new world. No culture or civilization is better than others. The identity of peoples and their pride in their traditions is the source of creativity and progress.
Both traditional and new media rely on digital means of communication which play a pivotal role in preserving national identity, shaping the global public opinion and creating and incubating supportive societal environment for the changes taking place in the world order. This influence clearly emerged during the Gaza crisis, as new media, Facebook , X , YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, and others, have enlightened the public opinion in some Western countries away from traditional trends towards supporting the Palestinian rights. This popular pressure was the main factor in changing some western official positions. Within such context, it is important to activate all media platforms, both traditional and new all over the world particularly in the Global South. That allows people to have a balanced and constructive understanding and to enhance the ongoing changes. It helps develop a social backing that supports developments and neutralizes the West’s efforts to continue its dominance over minds. In addition, building sustainable partnership between media and educational institutions as well as NGOs is also needed. People to people interactions create a human bond that stimulates the new world order.
Third, political and security pillar. As president Putin mentioned, security is indivisible. It is not possible for a country or even a group of countries to be secure while others are threatened. Although this is the essence of the “Security Dilemma” that the West has been talking about long ago and discussing extensively, at the actual policy level, it has not taken any steps to avoid such dilemma. Indeed, Western policies usually strengthen this dilemma due to the threat they represent to the security and interests of other countries. Their policies in Ukraine, Taiwan, Gaza, Venezuela and elsewhere are clear examples of that.
In this context, it is necessary to activate international and regional cooperation frameworks that express the collective will, and coordinate efforts among them. At the forefront is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is considered a cornerstone for maintaining security and stability in Asia. Expanding SCO’s membership to include the largest possible number of Asian countries is needed. Building bridges among SCO, ASEAN, Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is also a constructive step. Networking all those organizations is a basis for building an integrated security system on the Asian continent. Itwould enable countering the American attempts to destabilize security and stability, undermine peace in the continent and all economic development efforts as well. It would also help avoiding wars and conflicts that drain resources and hinder progress. In parallel, it would be a step forward to network those Asian organizations with the African Union and work together to confront the global challenges that threaten them all.
Moreover, despite the Western obstruction of the United Nations’ role in many international and regional issues, which was evident lately during the Gaza crisis, the UN remains an important global forum that expresses the collective will, especially at the General Assembly level. Working to activate it and supporting the independence of its stance is crucial for the new world order.
President Putin’s speech and his six principles were inspiring to all countries that are looking forward to a new world based on dignity for all and mutual respect of interests, cultures, and security. Reaching such world and making it a living reality is a collective responsibility. The strong participation of the Global South is inevitable and a duty at a critical moment in human history.
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 