Bloc politics.

USING the platform of the 14th BRICS Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made some interesting observations about the state of global politics, particularly the danger military alliances and blocs pose to world peace. In a clear swipe at the US and its allies, Mr Xi, addressing the virtual conclave, said that bloc-based confrontation would result in 'more turbulence and insecurity' while also observing that sanctions were a 'double-edged sword' that 'politicise the global economy'. The Chinese leader, instead, urged BRICS member states to support 'true multilateralism'. In light of the Ukraine crisis, as well as US-China tensions, specifically over the Taiwan issue, the call to reassess military alliances and bloc politics needs to be heeded seriously, if any semblance of an international rules-based order is to survive.

After the Cold War, there were expectations that the end of confrontation between the two rival blocs might bring global stability. But while the communist Warsaw Pact went quietly into the night, Nato - the West's sword arm - is very much alive and kicking. And as the Ukraine crisis has shown, the hatreds and mistrust that marked relations between the Eastern and Western blocs are very much alive. Undoubtedly, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is totally indefensible. But, from a historical perspective, Moscow undertook its military adventure after...