In a changing world, let’s put our national interest first

The US-Israel war against Iran has pushed the world further back into an era that humanity hoped it had left behind. Instead of trying to resolve differences through diplomacy and negotiations, we’ve seen the world’s most powerful states resorting to naked violence to get their way.

Apart from this week’s attack on Iran, recent instances have included Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the US’s own abduction of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and the commandeering of its vessels at sea.

In leading the assault on Iran, the US has proffered multiple reasons, ranging from forestalling an attack by Tehran to eliminating that country’s regime. Given previous instances where the US and its allies misled the world about their motives, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, many will take with a pinch of salt claims that Iran was on the verge of attacking the US. This will sound like a page from a familiar playbook.

Irrespective, the military invasion of one country by another, let alone the abduction or assassination of its leaders, is a violation of international law. Further, it plunges the world into a lawless dispensation where might becomes right, and fairness and the equal treatment of countries become an alien concept.

That makes the world a more dangerous, less peaceful place for everyone.

That scenario brings the role of the UN sharply into focus. Where the world body was established in the wake of World War 2 to prevent more wars and maintain world peace, it has essentially been reduced to a helpless bystander and witness to a progressively dangerous global neighbourhood.

What we have seen is the resurgence of the concept of global spheres of influence, reminiscent of the Cold War and colonial eras, controlled by the so-called major powers and characterised by the subjugation of less powerful nations

The question raised by the latest developments in the Middle East — and before that the US intervention in Venezuela, coupled with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — is whether the UN, particularly its Security Council, has passed its usefulness in promoting international co-operation and common security for all nations.

The outbreak of wars, which impact the rest of humanity, represents the strongest case for the reform of the UN system in favour of a new global arrangement where the rights of all nations are respected and international law applies to all, irrespective of military or economic power.

A lawless dispensation, where the powerful impose their will on the less strong, and the rules are selectively applied, can only make the world a more unstable and dangerous place. By ignoring the post-war lessons, the world will set itself on a path to repeat the same costly mistakes of the past, with the attendant suffering and huge loss of life for humanity.

What we have seen is the resurgence of the concept of global spheres of influence, reminiscent of the Cold War and colonial eras, controlled by the so-called major powers and characterised by the subjugation of less powerful nations. This flies in the face of any notion of multilateralism, where countries act together to solve the world’s problems. Or non-alignment, where each nation is free to choose its friends and, in its own interests, independently chart its own destiny.

South Africa, as a country that believes in these values, will increasingly come under pressure to fall in line with one or other of the protagonists. In this rapidly changing world, our challenge will be to adapt, but without abandoning our values and principles. And always acting primarily in the interests of the country and its people.