The colonial era and it’s after effects can be still felt till date, often termed as the Colonial Hangover.
The era saw Trans-pacific countries take the centre stage in world politics and advancements having a determined say against the colonized countries, which in today’s times include the emerging economies.
These countries are Latin America, India, Caribbean Nations which saw an influx of bond labourers, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Egypt, Philippines, DR Congo, Vietnam, Iran, Thailand, South Africa, Kenya, Colombia, Argentina, Afghanistan, and many more are today referred to as the Global South (it isn’t a geographical denotation).
These countries were exploited, colonized, or suffered historically and were made to feel inferior by the oppressors. They were plundered for their resources, and looked down upon for their culture, tremors of which can still be felt in today’s youth, which idealized a Western Lifestyle.
The exceptions to this became the rebels in their respective nations and believers of true equality, ready to fight till the end for it. This avalanched into a meaningful opportunity to overthrow colonizers especially during the 2 World Wars, when the then super powers were themselves embroiled in a bloody battle and we’re spread thin.
This led to The first awakening (1945-89). When an influx of countries started demanding independence of even a dominion status to begin with reclaiming their own identity ready to start afresh. Overcoming the regional diabolical incidents, they started demanding an equal say on the global stage. This also became the fulcrum and cornerstone of United Nations.
This period also saw the countries of the Global South take a non-aligned stance, such as during the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), in which a large chunk of the Global South distanced itself to assert its own position and not be a part of a distant war.
The period of 1990s however saw the Cold War which left everyone in a period of uncertainty.
Yet with the United Nations becoming a powerful organisation, and it’s arms like IMF gaining prominence for the rising nations, a competitive spirit took over the nations. Willingly or throuh bailouts, Globalization was floated as the only path to success and domination, and every developing nation was hungry for a respectable seat at the table. However it was well understood, while there may be ups and downs between diplomatic relations, the country singularly at the helm was United States of America.
Things however began to reset when the Digital Era became a quiver full of opportunities for the developing nation to enter the tertiary sector, an era dominated by the Dragon’s 2 Decades of Determination. This continued right up to the pandemic, during which the dark side of Chinese progress was brought to light. It became a serious menace that needed to be tactfully tackled as it now saw eye to eye with United States.
On the other hand during the tail end of this period to what is now happening under Trump 2.0 is South East Asia, Latin America and other countries of the Global South realise the dependence the developed nations have on them, for their economic survival. The outrage over Tariffs and Trade Barriers on all countries cement the belief that the West has a heavy reliance on these nations.
The Taiwanese Dominance over Chip-Making, Outsourcing IT Jobs to India, Importing toys, and other items of everyday use and majorly electronics from China and Apparels from Bangladesh and China are prime examples of some of the materialistic dependencies, apart from being the food basket of the world.
This phase of BRICS nations being a more talked about subject than AUKUS, and the disrepute of NATO posed against ASEAN or other alliances such as GCC, shows the multipolar world’s emergence.
The recent events such as Brazil ending its Visa Free travel for United States as well as Vietnam deciding upon its delegation to negotiate Tariffs, while hosting Xi Jinping and hailing it as its Top tier trading partner and deepening economic cooperation shows the evolving scenarios. These become especially relevant ever since the paralysation of WTO and other International bodies.
This phase is currently being referred to as the Second Awakening, during which the countries are realising their bespoke strengths and, rather than succumbing to Trump’s bullying tactics, openly calling them out while also diplomatically engaging.
Also Read: China Aims to Outlast US in Trade War as Tariff Tensions Soar
