Зворотний бік нейтральності. Російська війна в Україні й амбівалентна позиція країн Глобального Півдня

The unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine that precipitated in 2022 into all-out war, evoked a broad condemnation all over the world but the practical measures against the aggressor state varied remarkably at the national level. The major dividing line transpired between the wealthy liberal democratic states of the so called first world and less advanced (and mostly authoritarian) countries of the Global South. While the former group introduced a broad range of sanctions against Russian officials and legal entities and provided substantial military and economic support for Ukraine, the latter typically refrained from any serious moves that may impede their business as usual with Moscow. The current article weighs up the arguments that justify (or rebuke) the allegedly neutral position of the Global South in regard of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and explores how, if at all, this position can be changed toward a broader support of Ukraine and defense of the normative principles of the international law violated by Putin’s rogue state. The analysis proceeds in three steps. First, I examine available data of the UNGA vote on several resolutions regarding Russian war in Ukraine to determine the factors that most likely influenced the positive/negative vote of the Global South countries. To further develop my preliminary observations, I employ the content and critical discourse analyses to discover to what degree different factors are recognized by international experts and politicians, how they are interpreted, and which arguments are used to justify (or rebuke) the allegedly ‘neutral’ position of the Global South in regard of the war. In a way of conclusion, I mull on how, if at all, the generally indifferent/ambiguous position of the Global South nations can be changed toward a broader support of Ukraine and defense of the international law violated by a rogue state.