ItalCham is first and foremost a bilateral organization, linking businesses in Italy and South Africa. We are also, however, a multilateral organization, engaging and collaborating at an EU level on many issues. Moreover, we are always concerned with international best practice and the global contours of the world economy.
We all find ourselves susceptible to international affairs and geopolitics. Just think about the small issues of getting to work, which requires fuel, and cooking dinner, which requires food. Each of these activities has become more expensive owing to events thousands of kilometers away.
The world is, after all, smaller than ever, relying on global supply chains of goods and services. Our survival is thus sustained by the outside world; and, ironically, the biggest threats are global too. Climate change is the first truly global crisis which affects everyone without exception. Meanwhile, the internet has far more porous boundaries than the physical world, cyber-criminals take advantage of this fact and experts foresee that wars will increasingly be fought in cyberspace.
Multinational corporations and the global organizations like the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, Brics and Nato, traverse national boundaries. Financial crises are barely local anymore and the rapid, 9-month contagion of Covid was a lesson in our extreme interconnection.
Yet, the glue that currently holds a globalized world together remains the basic model of the nation state, each one upholding unique juridical, economic, political and cultural structures. National pride and national concern are staple motivations even for everyday citizens. So, there exists the contradiction that we are all interdependent and connected yet at the same time divided and independent.
From this paradox comes the phenomenon of coopetition, containing the simultaneous dynamics of competition and cooperation. The relative balance between the two can of course fluctuate and a dangerous level of competition between states is becoming apparent.
The Westphalian system of nations which seems so timeless is only 400 years old and in that time the dynamics within this system have morphed dramatically. The Cold War, periods of colonialism, two world wars and the hegemony of the USA have all been moments which have punctuated this era which is again in the process of changing.
The last 20 years have witnessed the rise of China in almost every facet of economic life. China’s economy has been catching up with the USA and now the country stands as a major challenger to the USA on the global stage. This is coupled with the growth of India, the world’s biggest democracy. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and alternative energy sources further change the complexion of the future.
Even within a system of sovereign states the multi-national and international has always been at play; and South Africa has for a long time been a cog in the international system. The early European inhabitants of Cape Town were representatives of one of the early multinational corporations and later South was part of the British empire which occupied a third of the planet in 1919.
South Africa remains a small open economy, particularly sensitive to the fluctuations in the global environment. South Africa’s position on Russia has become an issue which affects us more than what happens within the borders of our own country. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has exerted numerous pressures globally even onto far-flung nations such as our own. This has manifested diplomatically and economically.
Italcham sees the need to have its finger on the pulse of this global system. Our event on the 29th of June, featuring renowned Italian journalist Federico Rampini, is a showcase of our concerns with these issues. Mr. Rampini, who has an established corpus of work on geopolitics, now turns his attention to Africa and its role in a changing world. Anybody concerned with the future trajectory of South Africa and the African continent should register to attend this event with limited seats only.
