The Russia-Ukraine War and the Global South’s Sovereignty Paradox

This book examines the sovereignty paradox in the Global South within the context of the Russia-Ukraine war. It illustrates the contradiction that countries which helped establish the post-World War II norm of "equal sovereignty"—entitling all nations to the same respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity as the West—are reluctant to publicly condemn Russia’s infringement on Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The chapters in this volume further highlight the Global South’s duplicity because the Global South has been extremely critical of the US-led West for violating the United Nations Charter, international law and compromising on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the Global South. Through the analysis of nine countries, the contributions discuss each nation’s foreign policy tenets and how they have been violated in their stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and the justifications for such deviations. It also illustrates that “cherry picking” is the norm that states have adopted in employing the concept of sovereignty and this is likely to continue in the future.

This book will be of interest to students, scholars, analysts, and policymakers in the fields of international relations, political science, geopolitics, and Global South studies.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Security Policy.