The Centre for Social Sciences Research (CSSR) and the  Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa  (IDCPPA) at the University of Cape Town invite you to join us for a lunchtime seminar on 21 November 2023 at 12:45pm. The seminar will be presented by  Prof. Tim Murithi, a Research Associate at the IDCPPA. 

About the Seminar:

Africa and the Transformation of the International System

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, many African countries declined to take a strong stand against Moscow, with seventeen African countries refusing to vote for a UN resolution condemning Russia. In response, the United States and other Western countries have berated African leaders for failing to defend the “rules-based” international order, framing African neutrality in the Ukrainian conflict as a betrayal of liberal principles. But the truth is that the so-called “rules-based international order” is a myth and has not served Africa’s interests. To the contrary, it has preserved a status quo in which major world powers—be they Western or Eastern—have maintained their positions of dominance over the Global South. Through the UN Security Council, in particular, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have exerted outsized influence over African nations and relegated African governments to little more than bystanders in their own affairs. This presentation will assess how African countries have called for the UN Security Council to be transformed, by invoking Article 109 of the UN Charter which calls for a General Review Conference, as a pathway to reconfiguring the international system on more equitable terms.

Speaker

Professor Tim Murithi, is a Research Associate for the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy (IDCPPA), University of Cape Town, and also Extraordinary Professor of African Studies at the Centre for African and Gender Studies, University of Free State as well as at the Security Institute for Leadership and Governance in Africa, at Stellenbosch University, in South Africa.

 21 November 2023
 12:45 - 14:00 SAST
  CSSR Seminar Room, 4.29 Robert Leslie Social Science Building, UCT

Hosted by the Centre for Social Science Research and the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa