CAPE TOWN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- South Africa on Wednesday warned against a growth of nationalist and isolationist tendencies in the West.
Such tendencies are coupled with a sense of impunity and "going it alone attitude," for example on issues of climate change, the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said in its foreign policy review.
"Further, there is a growing tendency of powerful countries to reduce complex and interrelated problems of the world to narrow national interests, including militarist and transactional approach to diplomacy," said the report.
The immediate consequence of all these are trade wars, occasioning global market volatilities as well as the flagrant disregard of important international treaties, the report said.
These have serious negative impact on the United Nations and the multilateral global governance system in general, the report noted.
The report pointed to a series of political, social and economic dynamics that have opened major divisions in the traditional Western alliance.
South Africa believes in the reform of the UN and other multilateral global governance system so that these are democratic, inclusive and fully represents the nations of the world, big and small.
"For the past two-and-half decades, South Africa, working with other countries of the South, continued efforts at ensuring that the entire global governance system is transformed," the report said.
While acknowledging the benefits brought about by globalization such as faster transmission of technology and innovation, and the potential to accelerate regional, continental and global economic integration and development, the report said the process of globalization has still not benefited a large number of developing countries, but has instead exacerbated the marginalization of poor countries, with many having become poorer in recent years.
There is a growing sense that only a few are reaping the promised dividends of globalization, the report said.
"Not only has the gulf between developed and developing countries widened, but the wealth of rich elites and the rest of society within many countries keeps growing," said the report.
