The month of September 2025 confirmed what has long been in motion. A new rhythm in world affairs is asserting itself. Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Global Governance Initiative in Tianjin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus Summit. In Beijing, a grand military parade marked the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism. Across Asia, reconciliation deepened between China and its neighbours, even as the past was remembered with solemnity and hope for everlasting peaceful coexistence. These developments embody a new mood, and they generate new momentum. In Africa, the Economic Community of West African States extended a hand to the Sahel countries it had earlier suspended following coups d’état. In Ethiopia, grand infrastructure projects were launched and others announced.
Evidently, the Global South is no longer a spectator. It is becoming an active participant in shaping a fairer global order.
Meanwhile, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US President Donald Trump took the podium and insulted everyone – from the UN itself, to America’s historical allies. He questioned the effectiveness of the 80-year-old organisation; the irony is not lost. For years, the Global South has demanded a reformed and truly representative UN that gives all nations an equal voice. Yet Trump dismisses these calls, clinging instead to the belief that his brand of coercive deal-making holds the key to preventing wars. In doing so, he not only disregards global institutions but also undermines the very spirit of collective action that the UN was created to uphold. Trump’s question about the role of the UN is simply about the US being powerful over others. It is not about genuine calls for representative global governance institutions.
As I have said elsewhere, peace is not merely the absence of war. It is a virtue, a disposition for benevolence, confidence and justice. Yet today we are witnessing a different kind of violence, one waged through tariffs, sanctions and economic coercion. This turbulence undermines the pursuit of shared goals within institutions such as the African Union, BRICS and the UN. It reminds us that the postwar consensus remains unfinished. The Global North speaks of peace while entrenching coloniality.
What is needed is developmental statecraft, a counter to the hegemonic statecraft of the Global North. I define developmental statecraft as people-centred exercise of state power, rooted in human solidarity, mutual respect as well as equitable growth and fair trade. It is the statecraft of diplomacy of ubuntu and dialogue among civilisations. It builds rather than bullies, it integrates rather than isolates. It is this humanist outlook that key Global South countries like South Africa, Brazil, Malaysia, Algeria and China have been championing, and which now informs the Global Governance Initiative (GGI).
The GGI builds on earlier initiatives in development, security and civilisation, offering a suite of principles that form an architecture of pluriversality; one that departs from “the paradigm of the “One”, (which) is predicated on a strong belief in singularities of one God, one state, one knowledge, one nation, one economic system, one political system”, among many others. The GGI, its core commitments being sovereign equality, international rule of law, genuine multilateralism, people-centred development and real action, addresses the deficits of paralysing unipolarity. Unlike the unilateral practices of the West, it seeks to reform global governance without overturning the system, demonstrating confidence in the centrality of the UN system in global governance – albeit one that is fully transformed and truly representative. It is about making existing institutions more effective, inclusive and responsive. Where necessary, new inclusive institutions should be formed.
This is why the GGI has resonated so quickly.
Countries recognise an initiative that does not demand subservience but extends solidarity. It insists on fairness in finance, inclusivity in development and justice in climate action. It is the grammar of the Global South Consensus, a consensus not of revenge but of cooperation towards shared prosperity and peaceful coexistence.
Where the Global North has used punitive tariffs, sanctions and military interventions, the Global South offers infrastructure, education and green transformation. Where the Global North has built hierarchies, the Global South calls for reciprocity, equality and mutual respect. For it is through equality and mutual respect that the world will become fairer. Mutual respect nurtures dialogue and understanding, creating the conditions for peaceful, development and collective progress.
A fair world is one where opportunities are shared, diversity is celebrated. Only through this spirit of equality can humanity build a future grounded in justice, dignity and sustainable prosperity for all. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has already shown what this looks like in practice. It has launched platforms in energy, the green industry and the digital economy. It has created centres for innovation, education and vocational training. BRICS and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation have done the same.
China has committed to expanding renewable capacity and sharing the dividends of artificial intelligence. These are not symbolic gestures. They are evidence that pluriversality can be built through concrete action anchored by countries with intellectual and technological endowments.
Pluriversality means recognising that there is no single superior civilisation, no single way of governing and no single way of learning. Dialogue must prevail over war, in both its hard and soft forms. The coexistence of civilisations and the knowledge they bring is fundamental to national and global prosperity. The call for pluriversality and dialogue is also for solidarity, equality and sustainability.
The Global South consensus is therefore not only about institutions and policies. It is about ethics. It is about building a world where development is inclusive, peace is constructive and justice is global. It is about ensuring that peace is productive and delivering education, health, green transitions and prosperity for all.
September 2025 will be remembered as the moment this consensus crystallised. The Global Governance Initiative, the commemorations in Beijing and the gestures of reconciliation across Asia marked a turning point. Even in Europe they are starting to recognise that Gaza is a stain on their conscience.
The new mood is unmistakable. The latest momentum is irreversible. The Global South is finding its voice and offering the grammar for our shared future. DM