Journal Article Jorge Heine Journal Article Jorge Heine

Active non-alignment, the sovereignty paradox and the Russia-Ukraine war

Heine, Jorge. 2024. “Active Non-Alignment, the Sovereignty Paradox and the Russia-Ukraine War.” Contemporary Security Policy, October, 1–10. doi:10.1080/13523260.2024.2413337.

ABSTRACT: The differing reactions between Western nations and the Global South to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine present a puzzle. Shouldn't post-colonial states be just as concerned about the principles of national sovereignty and non-intervention as Western countries? The idiosyncratic, ad hoc explanations on a country-by-country basis are insufficient to account for a much broader phenomenon. This article deconstructs the “sovereignty principle” as it is seen in the Global South and examines the standing of the so-called Rules-Based Order (RBO), allegedly under mortal threat by Russia’s action. It then argues that a far better explanation for the Global South’s reaction is the rise of Active Non-Alignment (ANA). The foreign policy doctrine of ANA arose in Latin America in 2019–2020 in response to US–China tensions, It then spread to the rest of the Global South in 2022–2024 because of the war in Ukraine, BRICS expansion, and the war in Gaza.

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Journal Article Jorge Heine Journal Article Jorge Heine

Active Non-alignment and Global Governance: From Latin America to the Global South

Abstract:

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean—but also, more broadly, across the Global South—are being subjected to pressures from Washington and Beijing to take sides in what is emerging as a Second Cold War. How should countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America react to this? The purpose of this essay is to outline one response that has arisen to it in Latin America; namely, Active Non-Alignment (ANA). The essay first examines the concept of ANA. Then, it deals with the reaction elicited across the Global South to the war in Ukraine, in what many have referred to as a “new non-alignment”. Finally, the essay examines the case of India, seen by many as a leader of the Global South, and Africa. ANA provides a useful guide to action for the foreign policy of postcolonial states to navigate the stormy waters of a world order in transition.

Heine, J. (2024). Active Non-alignment and Global Governance: From Latin America to the Global South. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations 30, 2, 214-224, Available From: Brill https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-03002004

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