A CURSORY glance at the world map makes for interesting reading when it comes to viewing which countries and territories are adopting a neutral stance with Russia and Ukraine. 

Rightly or wrongly, the West has often been seen as a bully. 

Look at the historical antics of America’s CIA in many South American countries, and the West’s interference in many other areas around the world. 

Moreover, when it comes to western humanitarian aid, it rarely comes without political and economic conditions attached. 

Putin is an accomplished chess player who exploits weaknesses and has always played the long game. 

He’s allowed much of Europe to become dependent on Russian gas and oil, and has chosen his time carefully when it’s come to escalating his skirmish with Ukraine. 

Weakened western counties have responded in predictable fashion, further stressing our already fragile post-pandemic economies, while other major global players, China, India, and oil-producing Arab states, are simply sitting back and watching as the West gets drawn into a conflict with Russian and its bordering neighbour, Ukraine. 

A country that let’s be frank, many of us had never heard of until very recently.

How things pan out will no doubt determine the fate of many other disputed territories around the world. 

Is the West still dominant? 

If so, will it seek to impose that dominance, or will it retreat and hunker down in isolation, with only a few select countries allowed to join the club?

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