Africa’s Climate Future in a Fragmented Multipolar World
Africa’s ability to shape its climate future in a multipolar world depends on deepening feminist, decolonial and intersectional approaches to foreign policy, development cooperation and justice.
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Multipolarity in the international political system is not new. Since the emergence of the twenty-first century, international relations scholars and practitioners have debated the shift from the United States of America’s unipolar power in global political affairs to multiple centres of power across the globe. The diffusion of power emerged as a challenge to western economic, political and military hegemony. Prominent countries such as China, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, India, Japan and South Korea are the new great and middle powers showing their influence in global governance across different thematic areas.
For African nations, this changing landscape presents both opportunities and challenges. Middle powers offer alternative development models and strategic partnerships. Yet history has shown that shifts in global power do not automatically lead to more equitable relations. African feminist scholars, including Dr Charmaine Pereira, Prof. Sylvia Tamale and decolonial feminist scholar Françoise Vergès, have pointed out that while alliances like BRICS+ may offer an alternative to western-led cooperation, they do not necessarily dismantle the deep-rooted hierarchies of exploitation. If these partnerships are not approached critically, they risk reinforcing Africa’s economic and political dependence rather than breaking from it.
What makes this moment different is not just the redistribution of global power but the crises unfolding alongside it. Unlike past shifts, today’s geopolitical tensions unfold amid a poly-crisis of climate emergency, gender inequality, democracy’s backsliding and conflict requiring multilateral action. Yet, multilateralism is under attack. These attacks are particularly strong from countries that previously championed the rules and norms of cooperation and institutionalism in international affairs...
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