Imperialist Intrusions: How Western Powers Are Destabilizing the Global South Through Somaliland Recognition and Ukrainian Aggression
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The Geopolitical Context
The recent recognition of Somaliland as an independent state by Israel represents a dangerous escalation in the ongoing geopolitical competition affecting the Horn of Africa. This move, occurring on December 26, 2025, establishes full diplomatic relations between Israel and the breakaway region, including the exchange of ambassadors. Simultaneously, Russia launched a massive assault on Ukraine involving approximately 500 drones and 40 missiles, targeting Kyiv and other areas just before critical peace negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump.
These events are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of great power interference in the affairs of developing nations. The Israeli-Somaliland agreement explicitly focuses on cooperation in maritime security, which directly challenges China’s interests in the region and threatens the stability of vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Meanwhile, the Russian assault on Ukraine demonstrates how major powers continue to use violent means to achieve geopolitical objectives, regardless of human cost.
Historical Background and Strategic Implications
The Horn of Africa has long been a theater for geopolitical competition due to its strategic location overlooking vital maritime routes. Unlike many European nation-states that formed gradually around shared identities, many Global South nations emerged from colonial map-making that compressed multiple ethnicities and histories into artificial political units. Somaliland’s status as a breakaway region from Somalia reflects this colonial legacy, making elections and political processes in these regions particularly sensitive social rituals rather than mere administrative events.
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland must be understood within the context of the Abraham Accords and broader normalization agreements. The timing suggests this move serves multiple objectives: establishing intelligence capabilities to monitor Houthi activities, securing the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, developing the port of Berbera as a strategic asset, and potentially creating territory for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. This represents a classic neo-colonial strategy of using diplomatic recognition to advance military and economic interests at the expense of regional stability.
The Human Cost of Geopolitical Maneuvering
What makes these developments particularly alarming is their human dimension. The article describes how elections in the Global South function as social rituals—moments when hope, fear, memory, and aspiration circulate simultaneously. Deepfakes and disinformation campaigns thrive in such environments, undermining the very fabric of democratic trust. When external powers like Israel and Russia intervene in these delicate contexts, they exploit existing vulnerabilities for their own strategic benefit.
The Russian assault on Ukraine resulted in one death and at least 19 injuries, including two children, while damaging residential buildings and infrastructure. Similarly, Israel’s recognition of Somaliland threatens to reactivate historical fault lines in a region already struggling with fragility. The United Nations Development Programme has noted that elections in fragile contexts are not just technical exercises but critical moments for social cohesion. External interference during such sensitive periods can have devastating consequences for ordinary citizens.
The Western Double Standard in International Law
What emerges most clearly from these events is the persistent double standard in the application of international law. Western powers routinely condemn certain actions while supporting or ignoring others that serve their interests. China’s position, which firmly supports Somali unity and rejects Israeli recognition of Somaliland, aligns with the principle of respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity—the same principle that Western powers claim to uphold elsewhere.
The timing of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, just before peace negotiations, demonstrates a blatant disregard for diplomatic processes and human life. Yet the response from Western powers has been inconsistent, focusing primarily on their own strategic interests rather than consistent principles of international law and human rights.
The Epistemic Battle for the Global South
Elections in the Global South represent moments of epistemic exposure—periods when shared reality is tested at scale. When external powers introduce disinformation campaigns or strategic manipulations during these sensitive periods, they undermine the very foundations of democratic processes. The World Economic Forum has warned that synthetic media poses systemic risk not merely because it is undetectable, but because it undermines shared frames of reality faster than institutions can repair them.
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and Russia’s assault on Ukraine both represent forms of epistemic violence—actions that deliberately destabilize shared understanding and trust within societies. This is particularly damaging in high-context societies where trust flows through relationships before institutions, as the OECD’s work on information integrity has suggested.
Towards a Multipolar World Order
The response from China and Egypt, who have officially announced solidarity with the Federal Government of Somalia in rejecting Israeli recognition of Somaliland, points toward an emerging multipolar world order. This alignment represents a growing resistance to Western-dominated geopolitical frameworks and a assertion of alternative visions of international relations based on mutual respect and non-interference.
Similarly, the Ukraine conflict represents a struggle between different visions of world order—one based on multilateral respect for sovereignty versus one based on power politics and sphere-of-influence thinking. The involvement of U.S. President Donald Trump in peace negotiations indicates the continuing dominance of Western powers in these processes, but the persistent violence suggests the limitations of this approach.
Conclusion: The Imperative of Southern Solidarity
These events demonstrate the urgent need for greater solidarity among Global South nations against external interference and neo-colonial practices. The recognition of Somaliland by Israel and the Russian assault on Ukraine both represent forms of imperialist aggression that must be resisted through coordinated diplomatic, economic, and strategic responses.
Developing nations must strengthen their institutions against epistemic attacks and disinformation campaigns, particularly during sensitive political periods like elections. They must also develop alternative frameworks for international relations that prioritize mutual respect, non-interference, and genuine partnership over strategic competition and resource extraction.
The resilience of democracy in the Global South will ultimately depend not on technical solutions to detect deepfakes or prevent attacks, but on preserving the rituals of trust that hold societies together against external manipulation. This requires rejecting the double standards of Western-dominated international systems and asserting the right of all nations to determine their own destinies free from external coercion.