Across the Global South, certain perceptions of the West prevail — and for many, represent the reality they see.
The West is seen as judgmental for constantly finding fault with other countries. While Westerners may see public criticism as a regular diplomatic practice, it is seen by many as false righteousness, devoid of genuine partnership.
Western critiques are seen to be driven by aggressive media, political demagoguery and vested interest groups that seek to please domestic constituencies and advance their own political and economic agendas.
The West is perceived to perpetuate double standards on issues ranging from climate action and responsibility to trade and accountability for human rights violations.
Western nations have made the largest contributions to carbon emissions over the years, yet they have failed to meet pledges to provide $100 billion in climate financing for developing nations. They called for global solidarity during the pandemic while instead often pursuing vaccine nationalism.
Western nations preach free trade but increasingly engage in protectionism. They promote competition but as Mahathir Mohamad, the former Malaysian prime minister, pointed out, they resent those who outcompete them.
Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, who served as Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia and other countries, said once that Western nations “like to sit on a high pedestal, pontificating to others, acting both as judge and jury to the rest of the world.”
This reflects how bad the West has often been in communicating its messages globally. It is very easy for many in the West to forget that its development took centuries and that its proudest achievements, including multiparty democracy, social welfare systems and respect for human rights, came to be only after centuries of warfare, destruction, fascism and poverty. This can make Western rhetoric come off as preachy rather than empathetic.
Perceptions of Western hypocrisy in the Global South, compounded by bitter memories of past interventions, have made our divided world even more polarized and have pushed old friends and partners to turn to new sources of development finance that come with less baggage and fewer strings attached, at least in theory.
This partly explains why Mike Pompeo’s aggressive demonizations of the Chinese Communist Party when he served as U.S. secretary of state were coolly received in Asia. In the Islamic world, which makes up a large part of the Global South, people ask why some Westerners seem to be so dismissive of Islamophobia.
Such sentiments have been aggravated by the Global South’s disillusionment with the international order that was crafted by the West in the wake of World War II and is rigged in its favor. The institutions of this order, such as the World Bank, are seen to have been given insufficient resources to effectively meet global public needs.
The average Westerner may find these criticisms unreasonable, and sometimes they do represent an oversimplification of a complicated reality. But no Western government should be dismissive of such views because, even when uttered by rival powers such as China or Russia, they resonate with a large swath of the global community.
In response, there is a growing tendency toward a fragmented internationalism, with new institutions like the New Development Bank emerging to fill voids left by the West. This “a la carte multilateralism” reflects shifting dynamics and a quest for alternative avenues to address global issues.
In its illegal war in Ukraine, Russia has fully exploited these deep divisions by selling the tale that its “special military operation” was launched in response to Western threats to its security. It has to some extent succeeded with this spin, especially in Africa and South America. Indeed, there are places in the Global South today where the reputation of the West is so bad that anything you say against it will be taken as gospel truth.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the unprecedented move of inviting the leaders of eight Global South nations to the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May. (Pool via Reuters)
The West appears to be realizing that it must go beyond mere lofty rhetoric, as demonstrated at the Munich Security Conference in February. Western powers made visible efforts there to regain the trust of the Global South and to be more sensitive to the needs of countries scrambling for economic development.
French President Emmanuel Macron said there that he was “shocked by how much credibility we are losing in the Global South.” Josep Borrell, EU high representative for foreign affairs, was more explicit: “I see how powerful the Russian narrative is, its accusations of double standards. We have to dismantle that narrative, cooperate with other countries [and] accept that the U.N. structure must be adapted.”
Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the unprecedented move of inviting the leaders of eight Global South nations to the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima. There he stressed the importance of inclusiveness, political diversity and equality among nations — code words that populist leaders in the West tend to belittle but whose use resonated well with Kishida’s guests from the Global South.
The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, to be convened by Macron in Paris next week, can be a pivotal moment to foster consensus between the Global South and the Global North. By taking decisive action to address the climate crisis and create favorable opportunities for the sustainable deployment of financial resources, the summit can reshape the narrative and restore credibility in Western leadership.
In this regard, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has presented the Bridgetown Initiative, a comprehensive set of recommendations that includes reaching the $100 billion climate financing goal, reforming Bretton Woods institutions, introducing debt suspension clauses in cases of natural disaster and implementing global solidarity levies to mobilize new funding.
A successful summit could mark the initial stride in a thousand-mile journey. Temporary setbacks may be encountered along the way, but the process of restoring healthy relations between the West and the rest of the world will require time and unwavering perseverance. Over time, with genuine sincerity and a commitment to fulfilling past promises, the potential exists for a new relationship founded on unity, cooperation and mutual respect.
This article was originally published on Nikkei Asia in collaboration with Dino Patti Djalal.
Dino Patti Djalal, previously Indonesia’s ambassador to the U.S., is founder and chairman of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia.