Andrew Sheng

Opinion | Ukraine and Gaza wars have put the West in the dock of public opinion

The West’s unqualified support for Ukraine and Israel has lost it the support of the rest of the world and arguably hurt its moral standing

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People gather at the Place de la Republique in Paris, France, during a demonstration in support of the Palestinian people on November 2. Photo: EPA-EFE

Andrew Sheng

Published: 8:30pm, 3 Nov 2023

The images and news coming out of Gaza are so horrific I cannot think of anything hopeful or constructive that can come of this cataclysm. It feels like a balance has been lost between the West and rest.

What is the West? It is a world that essentially comprises the US-led North America, Europe and Australasia, including Japan. It accounts for 63 per cent of the world economy, three-quarters of world trade, over half of global energy consumption and 18 per cent of the world population, if we use the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a crude proxy.

The Western world sees itself as a paragon of civilisational progress and modernity, whereas the rest, namely, the East and the Global South, are much more diverse in culture, ethnicity and civilisational identity.

Last year, the Ukraine war sharply divided world opinion. The Nato-led Western world united behind Ukraine. The March 2022 UN resolution demanding that Russia immediately end its invasion of Ukraine was supported by 141 countries.

Only five countries voted against it, with 35 abstaining and 12 not voting at all. But in terms of population, nearly 60 per cent of people in the world lived in countries that did not vote for the resolution.

The Gaza conflict that started on October 7 also showed up a stark line of difference. A UN resolution calling for the protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip and the upholding of legal and humanitarian obligations was overwhelmingly passed by 120 countries, with 45 abstentions, and 14 not voting at all. Led by the US and Israel, which objected to the lack of condemnation of Hamas’ terrorist attacks and hostage-taking, a further 14 countries voted against the resolution.