US Hostility Toward South Africa Attributed to Declining Hegemony, Rise of Global South: Professor
US Hostility Toward South Africa Attributed to Declining Hegemony, Rise of Global South: Professor
Dr. Oscar van Heerden has framed recent hostile rhetoric from US Senator John Kennedy—who labeled South Africa an "enemy"—as a reaction to fundamental shifts in global power.
"Post World War Two and indeed post the Cold War with the USSR, the world became unipolar […] But the truth of the matter is that [it] has now changed. The world has become multilateral; the world has become more integrated," van Heerden told Sputnik Africa.
The Johannesburg University professor linked the targeting of Pretoria to the emergence of the Global South, noting its increased assertiveness and the demand for its share of power.
He cited three specific reasons for the US stance:
🟠Challenge to US Primacy: The Trump administration's pushback against changing geopolitical conditions.
🟠South Africa's ICJ Case: The country's decision to bring a genocide case against Israel, a key US ally, at the International Court of Justice.
🟠Perceived Threat of BRICS: The economic bloc, initially dismissed, is now seen as a significant challenge. Van Heerden noted that while the US may target South Africa as the "junior partner," confronting the bloc's larger economies has proven difficult.
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