The US and Russia voted against a resolution to advance ‘a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine’.
During Covid, the Great Reset was a conspiracy theory that claimed the pandemic was a giant hoax to destroy capitalism and drive radical social change. The conspiracy had roots in the 2020 Great Reset initiative of the World Economic Forum, which proposed using the opportunity presented by Covid to rethink how the world tackles big issues like sustainability and inequality.
But it is ludicrous to claim that Covid was the product of such a project or even that the Great Reset of the conspiracists was ever contemplated. Rather, it was not unreasonable to propose that the massive disruption presented opportunities to do things better in the post-pandemic recovery period. In practice, despite slogans like Build Back Better, the world has not changed radically post-Covid.
Conspiracy theories are often built not on the thing being attacked but on a desire to hide the intent of those attacking the “conspiracy”. Much anti-science conspiracy theory stems from the desire of the likes of tobacco companies and polluters to sow confusion about science to protect their interests. Often, the real conspiracy is clear and out in the open, there for anyone paying attention to see. Tobacco companies lied about the health harm they did. Fossil fuel companies lie about the damage carbon dioxide emissions do.
In this instance, is there an actual Great Reset conspiracy being obscured by all this chatter? Something clear and out in the open?
It has been obvious for some time that Vladimir Putin’s regime has been influencing politics in Western countries, including the Brexit campaign and US presidential elections. The benefit to Russia in geopolitical terms is clear. Weakening their adversaries at a relatively modest cost in bribing influencers and biasing social media in their favour is asymmetric warfare — low cost to them, high impact on their opponents.
This strategy culminated in the re-election of Donald Trump who has lost little time in capitulating on most of Russia’s Ukraine demands. On 24 February 2025, a resolution by Ukraine was put to the UN with wide European support. “Advancing a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine”, was passed by a convincing majority. What was noteworthy was that the US and Russia both voted against this resolution, the first time that they have been on the same side on Ukraine issues since conflict broke out in 2014.
But this is not the most critical issue. None of the other original Brics members, South Africa, India, China and Brazil, voted against the resolution, they all abstained.
Think about that carefully. The entire Brics bloc (as it existed before expansion) broke ranks with Russia, while the US voted with Russia. Since January 2025, Brics has also included Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. How did they all vote? Egypt and Indonesia voted for the resolution and the rest abstained. In other words, the extended Brics membership was even less for the Russian position. Even Iran, a key Russian ally and source of weapons, abstained.
That points to a seismic shift in geopolitics. The Cold War is dead. With the development of a Trump-Putin Axis, Europe is largely united in its desire for mutual protection, with a few exceptions, like Hungary. Iran might remain isolated from the US, but there is a case for European countries to seek rapprochement along the lines of the nuclear agreement that Trump tore up. Given that Trump is a long-standing Islamophobe and Putin has had major conflicts with Islamic minorities in Russia, it is possible that the Islamic world will start aligning with a Europe that is increasingly at odds with the US.
The Trump policy of abetting ethnic cleansing of Gaza can only amplify this shift.
What about Africa? A seismic change in geopolitics could be a great opportunity for Africa to put imperialism behind us for good. But, to do so, we need to get better at defining and pursuing our own best interests.
The most interesting question is where China goes next. A US-Russia axis is not in China’s interests as the US is their chief economic rival and Russia as a border state is potentially a security risk for China if they move too much into the US orbit.
Russia today is considerably weakened and, if Europe steps up and assists Ukraine without the restraints of previous US aid, Russia could end up both humiliated and considerably weakened. If the US started aiding Russia, that could be seen as a threat to China. As with Iran, a closer relationship between Europe and China could fall out of all this.
All of this is potentially very alarming but nonetheless could actually be the Big Reset we really need where the US and Russia cease to play a global role in determining the fate of other nations. We can but hope that a unified Europe and a revitalised China are not tempted to fill the vacuum with a new form of imperialism.
In Africa, the correct response to these changes calls for imaginative leadership that grasps the new opportunities while being fully cognisant of the risks.
Philip Machanick is an emeritus associate professor of computer science at Rhodes University.https://www.facebook.com/MakanaCitizensFront