The New South as Collateral Damage of the Russia–Ukraine Wars

The Russia–Ukraine war, while primarily perceived as a European security crisis, has triggered deep structural shocks globally, disproportionately affecting the developing world—the “New South.” This essay explores how historical legacies, global economic dependencies, and shifting geoeconomic paradigms have converged through the war to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. It critically examines the war’s impact through four interconnected lenses: a worsening global food crisis, the decline of European economic capacity, shrinking development aid, and a loss of Western moral legitimacy. Grounded in historical continuity and geoeconomic theory, the essay argues that the war’s profound global repercussions necessitate the New South’s pursuit of strategic autonomy through fostering regional integration, economic diversification, local market resilience, and advocacy for reforms in global governance structures.