South Africa's BRICS Diplomacy: When Non-Alignment Becomes 'Upsetting' to Imperial Powers
📰 THE STORY: Al Jazeera reports that South Africa is facing 'backlash' from the US and internal factions for hosting BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) naval drills, specifically highlighting Iran's participation. The article suggests this move is domestically contentious and raises concerns in Washington. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: South Africa's
ruling party, the ANC, maintains a deeply rooted non-aligned foreign policy, honed during its decades-long struggle against the apartheid regime. During apartheid (1948-1994), Western powers, including the United States and Israel, maintained extensive military and economic ties with the white minority government, while the ANC received support from countries like the Soviet Union, Cuba, and even
Iran pre-1979 revolution. This history informs South Africa's current defiance of Western dictates and its solidarity with nations resisting imperial pressure, as evidenced by its ICJ case against Israel for genocide in Gaza, a stark moral stand. Double Standard: The US regularly conducts joint naval exercises globally, including with nations like Saudi Arabia (whose human rights record is
routinely ignored or downplayed by Western media) and even countries with strong authoritarian tendencies. Yet, when non-Western powers like BRICS nations conduct routine joint drills, particularly with Iran – a nation targeted by decades of US sanctions for asserting its sovereignty – it's framed as 'provocative' or a source of 'backlash'. The US views its own military activities as 'stability