The CGSP Take: Where Does the Munich Security Conference Leave the Global South?

US Vice President JD Vance delivers his speech during the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany on February 14, 2025. (Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP)

This year’s Munich Security Conference provided two distinct messages on foreign policy from Washington and Beijing. In his speech on Friday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance framed European politics through a U.S. culture war lens. His broadsides against traditional allies implicitly questioned the idea of the unified West that was a centerpiece of Biden-era foreign policy.

Instead, the maneuvering around Ukraine seems to signal the U.S.’ desire to bypass established power blocks like the EU and the Atlantic Alliance.

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by Cobus van Staden

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