Super power countries have long advantage in playing dominant role in making decisions on the politics of international plat forms. After the end of World War II, the United Nations Organization came to exist by the diligent efforts of allied powers. The objective of the establishment of the organization was as they claimed to protect the world from another war. The inaugural ceremony with other founding members of the countries took place in San-Francisco city in USA in 1946.
Structurally the UN has the general assembly, observers and Security Council. The members of the Security Council are the winners of the World War II, USA, Great Britain, France and Former Soviet Union later China joined them. Veto power insists that in decision making the majority should prove its consent to the minority decision. On other words, one of the members of the Security Council has the right to reject the council decision.
This clearly indicates how the foundation of the UN is relied on injustices and for the last 70 years, the permanent members of the UN Security Council have continued to dominate the outcome of the UN resolutions.
The developing countries have no equal power in decision making in very critical issues and only represented in the general assembly and their role in shaping the world since then has been negligible and subjected to the super power countries ultimate say.
One of the objectives of the establishment of the UN is among others to bring peace in the world. However, right after the end of the World War II, the world immersed into cold war due to the ideological difference between the western world led by USA and the eastern world led by the former Soviet Union. The first pursued capitalist economic system while the later that time pursued socialist economic system.
When the propaganda war exacerbated between the two groups in 1950s western countries established the military pact known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization /NATO/ and the eastern Block also established its own military pact known as “Warsaw” named after the capital city of Poland where the pact established.
The political order created that time also reflected in the political equation of the developing countries. Some developing countries which pursued capitalist economic system developed strong ties with their former colonial masters and became pro-western while other countries which pursued the socialist economic system became pro socialist countries.
To with stand the mentioned pressure because of ideological difference in the world the developing countries established the G 77. The organization was established in 1955 known as the None Aliened Movement. The Movement was formally established in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, through an initiative of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah.
It is a forum of 120 countries including Ethiopia that are not formally aligned with or against any major power. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath of the Korean war as an effort by some countries to counterbalance the rapid bi-polarization of the world during the cold war, whereby two major powers formed blocs and embarked on a policy to pull the rest of the world into their orbits. As mentioned above, one of these was the pro- Soviet socialist bloc whose best known alliance was the Warsaw pact, and the other the pro-American capitalist group of countries, many of which belonged to NATO.
However, the role of the non -aliened movement in upgrading the relevance of the developing countries in the world organization forum was negligible. Because all the members of the movement were either allied to the NATO or WARSAW Pacts and ultimately such stance weaker them and once again the western block emerged as a dominant power in the international political plat form.
In the international organizations agenda are crafted by powerful countries while the developing countries voices are not heard equally. The financial contribution of the advanced countries to the international organizations under the auspicious of the United Nations is higher than the developing one and such situation enhanced the rich countries bargaining power in the international negotiations. Whenever an agenda is floored in the Security Council, no resolution will pass without their consent.
If the resolution seems against the interest of one member of the Security Council, the member can reject the resolution by using its veto power. On the other hand, to advance their interest supper power countries used the UN platform as tool and whenever they want to impose economic sanction on the countries regarded as their foe will pressure through the UN mandate.
The poor economic status of the developing countries also let them to be dominated by the power full countries. Most of the developing nations after the abolishment of colonialism unable to bring peace and stability in their countries and such a situation again forced them to spend their time, resource and finance in mitigating conflict.
Political upheaval and military coup were common phenomenon and continued to be the feature of some African Countries.
After the end of the cold war in 1991, the Berlin wall which divided Germany between east and west fall apart and Soviet Union was dismantled. Many countries abandoned Socialist ideology. Later the western countries seemed got the upper hand in world politics affairs nevertheless, in the last twenty years China has been emerged as the second rich economy next to the United States and the power balance is shifting and some developing countries took the opportunity as alternative mechanism to exploit the new paradigm shift.
The Briton woods organizations such as IMF and the World Bank which are manipulated by the western countries highly influence the developing countries macro-economic policies such as determining their local currency exchange rate against the Dollar, rescheduling debt payment, getting loan and aid. Hence they should be alert to follow the new economic order.
Poverty is rampant and in addition the poor countries are food insecure and survive only by the handouts of the western countries. These situations immensely reduce their bargaining power in the international plat form.
Political fragility in the parts of the developing countries let them their fate to be decided by foreign powers. More than 70 years since their independence, there are about 7 failed states in Africa and bringing peace in these countries in the near future can be said out of site.
The world trade arrangement also more benefits rich countries while harming the developing countries. Africa still contributes 3 percent to the world export but it imports three times more than it exports. These put the continent on the disadvantageous position and stay in the negative trade balance.
The developing countries mainstay of the economy is agriculture which is sensitive to climate change and in time of adversity, the countries suffer from shortage of food and fill the balance through aid which is embarrassing.
Developing countries have insignificant role for carbon emission but they are the major victims of global warming induced by emission gas released from the advanced countries industries. Yet in the climate negotiation in the international plat form, the bargaining power of the developing countries is negligible.
Due to the rampant corruption prevailed in Africa, according to the Transparency International, the continent loses 3 billion Dollars annually in the form of capital flight because of illicit trade and to that end the western financial institutions cooperate the corrupted officials.
Africa and the rest of developing countries have their own continental organizations such as AU in Africa but the organizations themselves are financially dependent on the donor’s countries and such situation provided chance to rich countries to involve in the internal affairs of the countries, which further complicate their problems.
Some of the African countries even fail to pay their annual financial contribution to the African union; leaving the organization financially weak.
The African Union Mission in Somalia and (AMISOM) is an active, regional peacekeeping mission. Countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Uganda sent their troops there but all the financial cost is covered by USA and European Union. Such a situation also made the AU to be manipulated by outside forces.
Currently many leaders of the developing countries called for genuine reform of global institutions to accommodate the interest of the South in many occasions.
But some continents did not do their own home work in their countries to make them independent from outside influence. Even after the abolishment of apartheid and the coming to power of Nelson Mandela from 27 years of imprisonment and assuming of power as president of South Africa, African leaders failed to trust each other and to live up to their pledge to bring peace and stability. One leader supports the other countries rebel groups and to counter this action the victim country goes the other way round.
Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Central Africa Republic and Burkina Faso are categorized as failed states because governments are unable to bring peace and stability. Poverty is rampant in many countries. Shortage of foreign currency, negative trade balance and inflation has been the pressing issues for many African countries.
In such situation demanding reform with regard, the United Nation working system is meaningless. Therefore, their task should not be the cart before the horse.
Developing countries are purely recipient of decision made by the super power countries. To counter balance the decision at minimum level, they have to organize and united themselves and must reevaluate their relation with the western countries, which let them economically dis advantageous.
Currently China plays vital role in stimulating the developing countries economy through constructing infrastructure and exploiting of natural resources which paves the way for economic growth.
BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 25 MARCH
