Globalism, global governance and the promotion of security: reflections on Southern Africa

Abstract

The Charter of the United Nations (UN) was drafted while the devastating effects of World War II were still very much part of the dynamics in international relations. The world's leaders were determined never to let war happen again and had set their minds on the advancement of all peoples. To this end, they ratified arguably the world's most important political document when the Charter was signed in San Francisco in 1945.

No global war has occurred since the Charter was signed. However, humanity has experienced much conflict, suffering and injustice as a result of inter-state and intra-state wars. The division between the Western and Eastern powers with their respective security alliances and institutions also reflected the political-military rivalry in international politics.

In 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down and events in the former Eastern Bloc signalled a new era, the international community sensed that humanity was on the verge of new developments and a changing security agenda. Whereas the need for co-operation in the international community guided the broad vision of the drafters of the Charter of the UN, there is an even wider and deeper realisation of the interdependence of the nations of the world today.