WHILE no one has declared a Third World War, indications are that the world is at war. Perhaps, the current wars do not amount to a world war because some analysts have described them as wars of the East as they are limited to Eastern Europe, the Middle East and East Africa.
Hostilities that escalated in Ukraine in February 2022 continue to rage with no solution in sight. Its toll on civilians is unimaginable. Immense suffering continues as the war is uprooting hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, devastating economies and destroying essential facilities thus diminishing access to services. More than 50 countries, mainly Western, are materially and financially backing Ukraine against Russia.
One year after the war in the Middle East escalated, hostilities intensified and spread across the region and now affecting the occupied territories of Palestine (oPt), Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Again, millions of civilians are bearing the brunt of the war, while thousands have lost their lives.
In Eastern and Central Africa, political instability and conflicts have caused multiple displacements and are destabilising the region. A country such as Egypt is enduring the spillover consequences as it now hosts refugees from both the Middle East and East Africa regions while still recovering from its troubled past.
What is behind all these conflicts and why is the world struggling to find solutions to halt the wars that have a colossal global impact? When one looks at the issues triggering the wars, it is easy to assume that bringing parties involved in the conflict to the table would help bring back peace. But are the issues, the genuine issues at play?
In Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the narrative is about Ukraine and Israel defending themselves with the backing of the West. That means dozens of countries are involved. Defending in this case means defeating the opponent thus overriding the importance of peaceful solutions to conflicts.
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The former arbitrators have taken sides. They have directly or indirectly become parties to the conflict either by proxy or direct participation. This has compromised their historical role of being neutral arbitrators. In East Africa, it is not clear who is doing what. It is a cacophony of players. However, reports have suggested the increasing presence of Russian influence in Africa to unsettle Western interests.
The period between September 1945 — the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the third millennium was marked by one dominant global hegemonic power — the United States of America and its Western allies. They called the world to order and acted as an arbitrator even though they remained an interested party in several conflicts. Their dominance leveraged their influence over peace processes and imposed their world order.
The world was in their hands, an opportunity they employed to impose and spread capitalism and neoliberalism for their economic and political benefit. These ideologies are premised on private ownership and control of trade and industry. In other words, they are broadly an individualistic economic and political system that favours certain regions over others. It is the same ideas that informed and unleashed slavery and colonisation over other nations.
The end of the Second World War and the beginning of the third millennium also marked the political and economic rise of countries that were historically seen as communist. Communism is about an equal society where the gap between the poor and the rich is narrow or non-existent. It is an ideology premised on equal distribution of wealth and resources, with the government ensuring everyone gets an equal share. In theory, it is about every human being on earth having their fair share of what this world has to offer, thus not seeking to conquer or colonise others.
Some of these countries seen as communist included the Soviet Union now Russia, China, North Korea, Japan, and India as well as some of the Asian Tigers who blended capitalism into their ideologies. The growth of communist economies became the major headline between the 1950s and 1990s. This was because communism was blended with some form of autocracy in pursuit of capitalist ideas resulting in the rapid rise of economies. But communism remained the ideological identity of some of these countries.
While the growth of these economies was seen as a miracle because it unleashed billions of people mainly in the Asian region out of poverty, the Western world saw this growth as counter to their political and economic dominance. It meant competition for global dominance, access to markets, and economic and political power.
With that, the daggers were drawn between the East and West or the current capitalist Western countries against the historically communist countries. Today, the West is inclined to stand by its political proxies in different regions of the world as a way of retaining its dominance and protecting its interests.
- Tapiwa Gomo is a development consultant based in Pretoria, South Africa. He writes here in his personal capacity.