The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit (SHOW) in Chinese Tianjin had to be by definition an awesome event. After all, it was organized by a power headed by the Global South and leading in many areas of the current transformation of global governance.
Of course, the gathering itself – although many mention to it as a breakthrough – is just 1 component of a logical sequence, 1 of the steps leading to the transformation of the planet in the direction described earlier by theorists of multipolarity.
Multipolar order, like any deep change, is born in pain. Its emergence must be accompanied by the convulsions of the vanishing planet of the former, the perimortem convulsions of the hegemic system, peculiarly felt in its American-European centre. We do not know how long this process will last, but we must be prepared for this phenomenon in the category of longue durée proposed by French historian Fernand Braudel. Thus, we observe a series of events that are part of a process that many have not yet guessed. However, we will hazard the thesis that this series is an inevitable tendency towards this multipolarity.
W Tianjin, this transformation was revealed in a fewer moments. Firstly, we are dealing with a fresh phase in knowing key players that only a joint action can accelerate the twilight of hegemonism, which is becoming increasingly aggressive and erratic at its end. This is demonstrated by the agreement and normalisation of China's and India's relations – the 2 most populous countries in the planet (their combined population present is about 2.8 billion), which over decades have been in more or little crucial contradictions and disputes. The handshake of Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi is simply a testament to knowing the process. Any disputes were postponed. For this moment, the common geopolitical goal prevailed.
Along with Xi and Modi, he stood for common photography Vladimir Putin. any commentators have even stated that there is simply a circumstantial Eurasian power triangle. But that's not all. The relation of China’s representatives of the Global South to Russia besides indicates that they realize more. This is simply a confession that the Western War against Russia in Ukraine has been a military expression of global transformation for respective years and at the same time a catalyst for accelerating the transition process. The war so has a context far beyond its stated objectives. Coming from this assumption, the Global South does not support Moscow straight (there is no necessity) as it favours her.
Another crucial issue is the peculiar conservatism of the participants of the summit of SCHOW in global relations, at least declarative, peculiarly visible in the declarations of Chinese hosts. It recalls the function of global law and of institutions allowing it to be developed and observed – the UN or the planet Trade Organisation (WTO). These institutions were originally formed with Western participation, and the second was at any phase an instrument for his hegemonic practices (free trade fetish, the abolition of protectionist barriers – all of which were beneficial for the United States and their allies at the phase of their unquestionable economical and technological advantage). The Global South present calls for compliance with the rules established by these institutions for 2 reasons. Firstly, the provisions of their statutes and basic papers proclaim the equality of sovereign states in global relations, and this echoes the assumptions of multipolarity. Second, the leaders of the multipolar camp want to show that they wanted to keep the rules of the old world, to return to law enforcement in global relations. It didn't work out. Therefore, with a clear conscience, we can proceed to the creation of the organization housing of the fresh world, based on multipolarity and doctrine of sovereignty.
The multipolar planet will not be a fairy-tale land of idyllic peace and universal harmony. There will besides be disputes, conflicts, and even wars. However, it should be understood, the direction of transformation and the trend that cannot be stopped. This is peculiarly the case for tiny and medium-sized countries whose impact on the improvement of a global agreement of forces is by definition limited. The only leader of specified a country from the European Union that understands the global reality around us was the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. It appeared in China as the only head of EU government. The leader of a country with little than 5.5 million people talked to the largest global players about Slovakia's interests.
Fico showed an knowing of the process, which, blinded by ideological schemes and pathological hatred, the Polish political class is not and will never be able to understand.
Mateusz Piskorski
photo of the X profile of Robert Fico
Think Poland, No. 37-38 (14-21.09.2025)
