Anti-Western sentiments, disinformation and the reactions to Russia’s war on Ukraine in the Global South

Abstract

While the West was rather fast, united and unequivocal in condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reactions from the Global South were more varied. Russia’s war is that of a European empire against a country it formerly colonised. Yet, among those most sympathetic to Russian narratives and most critical of Western support for Ukraine are people and elites in many of those countries that were formerly colonised by European empires themselves. This paper examines the origins of such sentiments. It discusses how the particular features of both Western and Russian imperialism as well as Western and Soviet conduct during the Cold War help to explain a certain level of sympathy for Russia in the Global South. It shows how perceived and actual Western hypocrisy has made the Global South less receptive to Western narratives about principles, norms and international law and more receptive to Russian propaganda and disinformation. On that basis, it argues that in receiving only limited open support from non-Western countries, the Ukrainians are, to some extent, paying the price for perceived and actual double standards in European and American foreign policy.