Of all the doomsday predictions about our planetary future from the 1960s and 1970s, perhaps none was so wrong as the fear about overpopulation. The reality has proven to be just as alarming, if for the opposite reason: In every region of the world except Africa, population levels have begun to level off due to declining birthrates.
Earlier this week, South Africa issued immunity to all foreign leaders attending the BRICS summit in August. Pretoria insisted it was a routine measure for international gatherings the country hosts. But many observers saw it as a way to allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the summit despite an ICC arrest warrant.
This year’s G-7 summit made it clear the group views China and Russia as threats to the international order and offered insights into how the Western powers plan to counter them. It seems the G-7 approach has three facets: ignore Russian intimidation, economically decouple from China and court nations throughout the Global South.
