At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, Chinas Xi Jinping called for a new global order with Russias Putin and Indias Modi at his side. And for South Africa, the tectonic plates of geopolitics are shifting.
A seductive alternative?Xis vision promises a financial and trade system free from Western dominance, giving the Global South more leverage. For countries weary of IMF austerity, tariff terror and dollar dependence, the offer is tempting.
The cost of driftThe flipside is that alliances demand discipline. Singapores remarkable transformation is celebrated not for ideology, but for delivery. This was a state that got things done efficiently, consistently and with minimal tolerance for excuses.