https://en.sputniknews.africa/20230909/1061991850.html
Is the G20 Obsolete in an Increasingly Multipolar World?
Is the G20 Obsolete in an Increasingly Multipolar World?
Sputnik Africa
One can count the number of cases in which Western governments have been genuinely interested in Africa's wellbeing on the fingers of one hand. However, the... 09.09.2023, Sputnik Africa
2023-09-09T08:01+0200
2023-09-09T08:01+0200
2023-09-09T18:31+0200
russia
china
india
brics
european union (eu)
sergey lavrov
vladimir putin
dmitry peskov
g20
multipolarity
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The first step in this rebranding can be seen at the ongoing G20 Summit in New Delhi, which saw the African Union admitted as a permanent member of the organization – on a par with the European Union. Will that be enough to heal old wounds? Probably not, especially considering that the G20 meeting takes place after last month’s historic BRICS Summit in South Africa. The event brought together countries from across the Global South and announced the admission of six new members into BRICS, including two African countries – Egypt and Ethiopia. Hard to see how the G20 tops that.It turns out that Western-centric groups are beginning to cede global leadership to the multipolar world organizations, mostly led by Russia, China and India. Is this trend taking over the politics of the G20? And what are the prospects for the G20 in a future world stage?Summit Without Putin or XiThe G20 Summit in New Delhi is taking place without the leaders of Russia and China. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov headed the Russian delegation, while Premier Li Qiang headed the Chinese one. As both leaders were among the main actors of the recent BRICS Summit, this turn of events may be regarded as a bad omen for the upcoming summit. Although Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted that Putin and Xi did not coordinate the refusal to attend the New Delhi Summit, the absence of these two leaders will be extremely significant.Tony Kevin, former Australian ambassador to Poland and Cambodia and former career officer of the Australian Foreign Ministry, as well as the author of two books on Russia, ‘Return to Moscow’ (2017) and ‘Russia and the West’ (2019), highlighted to Sputnik that “the Russian President Putin and the Chinese President Xi have both sent a very clear signal by not attending the meeting."In turn, Dr. Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, claimed that the decision of the leaders of Russia and China not to attend the G20 "will indeed dampen the significance of this summit."Who Created the G20?The G20 originated in the late 1990s when Asian countries were in the grip of a massive financial crisis. The West did not know how to react to it. Then, the G7 finance ministers, at a conference in Berlin in 1999, officially took the initiative to expand the circle of countries to discuss financial policy issues by inviting a number of large states, without which it was impossible to solve global economic challenges. However, the finance ministers of the United States and Canada primarily made the decision on which countries would join the G20.In other words, the collective West, led by the United States and Canada, created a group of countries that would face global challenges. And they were supposed to do this in the interests of the West.Initially, the G20 was called upon to discuss world economic problems - India has reminded its partners of this several times during preparation for the upcoming summit. But for several years now, the West has been trying to push through political issues on the platform. This became especially noticeable during the 2022 summit on the Indonesian Bali Island.Perhaps the most sensitive point was the West's desire to discuss the Ukrainian issue at the summit. Thus, it was in 2022 when the Russian special military operation was nevertheless mentioned in the G20 final declaration. This year, India has refused Ukrainian President Zelensky the right to participate in the summit, despite calls from Western countries. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia will not agree to accept the upcoming G20 summit’s declaration if it ignores Russia's stance on global crises.Clash of Civilizations?However, not only the Ukrainian issue may become a bone of contention this year. There is a great deal of points that Western and non-Western countries look at from diametrically opposed angles. There is a high risk that the New Delhi summit will turn into a Huntingtonian clash of civilizations to some extent.He also noted that the main problem is “Western arrogance”:Moreover, the Australian ambassador supposed that “there is a very real fear that the Western powers led by the US are going to try to manipulate the meeting to produce language intended to be unpleasant for Russia and China."Decline of the Old International Relations SystemThe problems experienced by the G20 may seem to be a consequence of changes in the system of international relations. It is obvious that the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations, which was created at the end of the Second World War, finally went to the dustbin of history with the start of the Russian special military operation and the subsequent shifts in world geopolitics.Hence, old international institutions, which were predominantly oriented towards the West, should gradually fade into the background and lose influence. All the last events point to the fact that the G20 is going to be one of them.According to Kevin’s point of view, G20 as a concept is rapidly being overtaken by the very developments over the last few months in building genuine multipolarity.In turn, the G20 status and its significance have diminished in recent years, pointed out Dr Baohui.The G20's ReplacementTherefore, the world order is changing; the old international institutions are fading into the background. And which ones will lead in the nearest future?It seems that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already given the answer to this question.Apparently, we saw this trend at this year's SCO and BRICS summits: both organizations continue to expand rapidly, gaining both economic and geopolitical weight on the world stage.Nevertheless, Kevin suggested that the G20 still has a chance for a second wind.For this, the G20 will still have to take some example from the development system of the multipolar world organizations. Whether the notorious “Western arrogance” will allow this to be done - time will tell.
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Is the G20 Obsolete in an Increasingly Multipolar World?
08:01 09.09.2023 (Updated: 18:31 09.09.2023) One can count the number of cases in which Western governments have been genuinely interested in Africa's wellbeing on the fingers of one hand. However, the sharp drop of Western influence on the continent is forcing former colonial powers to try rebranding themselves.
The first step in this rebranding can be seen at the
ongoing G20 Summit in New Delhi, which saw the
African Union admitted as a permanent member of the organization – on a par with the European Union.
Will that be enough to heal old wounds? Probably not, especially considering that the G20 meeting takes place after last month’s historic
BRICS Summit in South Africa. The event brought together countries from across the
Global South and announced the
admission of six new members into BRICS, including two African countries – Egypt and Ethiopia. Hard to see how the G20 tops that.
It turns out that Western-centric groups are beginning to cede global leadership to the multipolar world organizations, mostly led by
Russia, China and India. Is this trend taking over the politics of the G20? And what are the prospects for the G20 in a future world stage?
Summit Without Putin or Xi
The G20 Summit in New Delhi is taking place without the leaders of Russia and China. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov headed the Russian delegation, while Premier Li Qiang headed the Chinese one.
As both leaders were among the main actors of the recent BRICS Summit, this turn of events may be regarded as a bad omen for the upcoming summit. Although Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted that
Putin and Xi did not coordinate the refusal to attend the New Delhi Summit, the absence of these two leaders will be extremely significant.
Tony Kevin, former Australian ambassador to Poland and Cambodia and former career officer of the Australian Foreign Ministry, as well as the author of two books on Russia, ‘Return to Moscow’ (2017) and ‘Russia and the West’ (2019), highlighted to Sputnik that “the Russian President Putin and the Chinese President Xi have both sent a very clear signal by not attending the meeting."
In turn, Dr. Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, claimed that the decision of the leaders of Russia and China not to attend the G20 "will indeed dampen the significance of this summit."
“G20 was created as a concert system that incorporates the world’s leading powers so they can work together to resolve the biggest problems facing the globe. The absence of the top leaders of China and Russia pokes a hole in the G20 mechanism. The Ukraine war and many global issues ranging from climate to development need the cooperation of the world’s leading powers. As such, Xi and Putin’s absence will reduce the significance of this summit even though their representatives will be there,” he told Sputnik.
The G20 originated in the late 1990s when Asian countries were in the grip of a massive financial crisis. The West did not know how to react to it. Then, the
G7 finance ministers, at a conference in Berlin in 1999, officially took the initiative to expand the circle of countries to discuss financial policy issues by inviting a number of large states, without which it was impossible to solve global economic challenges. However, the finance ministers of the United States and Canada primarily made the decision on which countries would join the G20.
In other words,
the collective West, led by the United States and Canada, created a group of countries that would face global challenges. And they were supposed to do this in the interests of the West.
Initially, the G20 was called upon to discuss world economic problems - India has reminded its partners of this several times during preparation for the upcoming summit. But for several years now, the West has been trying to push through political issues on the platform. This became especially noticeable during the 2022 summit on the Indonesian Bali Island.
Perhaps the most sensitive point was the West's desire to discuss the Ukrainian issue at the summit. Thus, it was in 2022 when the Russian special military operation was nevertheless
mentioned in the G20 final declaration. This year, India has refused Ukrainian President Zelensky the right to participate in the summit, despite calls from Western countries. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia will not agree to accept the upcoming G20 summit’s declaration if it ignores Russia's stance on global crises.
However, not only the Ukrainian issue may become a bone of contention this year. There is a great deal of points that Western and non-Western countries look at from diametrically opposed angles. There is a high risk that the New Delhi summit will turn into a Huntingtonian clash of civilizations to some extent.
“A rather distorted forum, not representing the true picture of the industrialized economies of the world, still heavily weighted to Western hegemonic habits and attitudes, which summed up rather well in the statement by Joseph Borrell, the EU foreign minister. The EU being a member of the G7 to the effect that Europe is a garden and the rest of the world is a jungle. And Mr. Lavrov has had some rather sarcastic things to say about that, rightly so. But it reflects that sort of Anglo-American and European attitude of superiority to the rest of the world. Therefore, Mr. Modi, the prime minister of India, is going to face quite a challenge this weekend in trying to make something useful and successful out of this,” Kevin told Sputnik, commenting on the misunderstandings between Western and non-Western countries of the G20.
He also noted that the main problem is “Western arrogance”:
“The West is trying to use the G20 in a way that it was not intended to be used. The G20 is essentially a global economic cooperation forum. It is not a forum for striking political attitudes and issuing condemnations of particular countries' conduct in particular areas. It is not about politics, and this should have been made very clear at the G20 last year in Indonesia, when the Ukraine war was already in process, and the Americans tried to use it to make an anti-Russian statement to talk about Russia's unprovoked aggression. This led to a very bad-tempered and unsatisfactory outcome to the meeting. And I think it is going to happen again because the Americans don't learn from experience.”
Moreover, the Australian ambassador supposed that “there is a very real fear that the Western powers led by the US are going to try to manipulate the meeting to produce language intended to be unpleasant for Russia and China."
“I think there's a very good chance that there won't be an agreed final statement, because I'm sure that the Chinese state, the representative, the prime minister of China, and Mr. Lavrov, the senior Russian representative, will not accept an anti-Russian or anti-Chinese final statement. It will have to be wound back. This will test Indian diplomacy to the utmost. And it may be possible, as in Indonesia last year, that there won't be a final joint statement. In Indonesia, there was not even a final traditional group photograph. The atmosphere became so bad at the end. So I don't have great expectations for this meeting," he added.
Decline of the Old International Relations System
The problems experienced by the G20 may seem to be a consequence of
changes in the system of international relations. It is obvious that the Yalta-Potsdam system of international relations, which was created at the end of the Second World War, finally went to the dustbin of history with the start of the Russian special military operation and the subsequent shifts in world geopolitics.
Hence, old international institutions, which were predominantly oriented towards the West, should gradually fade into the background and lose influence. All the last events point to the fact that the G20 is going to be one of them.
According to Kevin’s point of view, G20 as a concept is rapidly being overtaken by the very developments over the last few months in building genuine multipolarity.
In turn, the G20 status and its significance have diminished in recent years, pointed out Dr Baohui.
“The significance of the G20 has steadily declined after its initial success during the 2008-09 global financial crisis. The return of geopolitics and great power rivalry in the next decade weakened the foundation of the G20, which preaches cooperation rather than conflict and competition. In recent years, the growing divide between the US and the West on the one hand and non-Western rising powers on the other has ushered in a new era of international politics that centers on conflict and competition. The G20, which symbolizes global governance, is becoming increasingly irrelevant.”
Therefore, the world order is changing; the old international institutions are fading into the background. And which ones will lead in the nearest future?
It seems that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already given the answer to this question.
“The West undermines the institutions of global governance more and more every year. Therefore, those wishing to join the BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and other groups where the West is not represented are growing,” he said.
Apparently, we saw this trend at this year's SCO and BRICS summits: both organizations continue to expand rapidly, gaining both economic and geopolitical weight on the world stage.
Nevertheless, Kevin suggested that the G20 still has a chance for a second wind.
“It is really up to the G20 whether it develops. To redefine and relocate the disciplines that make it a useful forum. International cooperation can only work according to agreed protocols, integrate rules, and if the people involved in a particular forum don't all follow those rules, it makes it very difficult for everybody. The BRICS meeting was extremely successful. Shanghai Cooperation Organization is extremely successful. East Asia summits are extremely successful. This is because these organizations follow their protocols, follow the rules, and G20 needs to do the same,” the Australian ambassador summed up.
For this, the G20 will still have to take some example from the development system of the multipolar world organizations. Whether the notorious “Western arrogance” will allow this to be done - time will tell.
