Welcome to our Newsletter!
The headlines may be different, but they point to the same underlying story: the world is entering a period of profound adjustment. Great-power competition is intensifying, the rules of international cooperation are evolving, and energy security has returned to the center of global economic and political debates. The certainties that shaped the post-Cold War era are giving way to a more fragmented and unpredictable landscape.
A recurring theme across this edition is the growing agency of the Global South. Many developing nations are increasingly evaluating global leadership through the lens of development outcomes, sovereignty, and credibility rather than military strength alone. This shift is occurring alongside the rise of “flexi-lateralism,” a more pragmatic and adaptive approach to international cooperation that reflects a world where flexibility often matters more than consensus.
Energy security has become a defining feature of this new era. The escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the fragility of global energy markets and the continued vulnerability of economies to geopolitical shocks. In this edition, we trace the costs of a distant war and examine how its disruptions ripple across regions, with particular attention to Morocco, Africa, and the broader Global South, as well as their implications for energy security, inflation, and economic resilience.
Yet amid this uncertainty, longer-term transitions continue to advance. Renewable energy is becoming increasingly competitive, while countries such as Morocco are pursuing ambitious strategies to diversify their energy mix and strengthen climate resilience. However, the success of the green transition will depend not only on technological progress, but also on effective governance, sustained investment in infrastructure, and the ability to balance sustainability with economic development.
Taken together, the contributions in this issue point to a simple but central reality: the defining challenges of the twenty-first century: geopolitical competition, development cooperation, energy security, and climate change are deeply interconnected. Understanding these dynamics is essential to navigating a world that is becoming more multipolar, more complex, and increasingly shaped by the choices of the Global South.
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Beijing, Washington and the Global South
Marcus Vinicius de Freitas
The Trump–Xi meeting in Beijing symbolizes a broader shift toward a multipolar world where the Global South is becoming an increasingly influential force. The op-ed highlights the reassessing of global leadership which is based more on development outcomes, sovereignty, and policy consistency rather than military power alone. It highlights growing skepticism toward Western credibility, driven by perceived double standards and overreliance on coercive tools... Read more
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The New Flexi-Lateralism
Andy Sumner, Len Ishmael and Stephan Klingebiel
As traditional development cooperation faces funding cuts and geopolitical fragmentation, a new “flexi-lateralism” is emerging. The model relies on flexible coalitions, practical tools, and UN-backed norms rather than universal participation. Drawing on debt initiatives launched in Sevilla in 2025, cooperation is becoming more selective, modular, and adaptive. Its success will depend on balancing speed and innovation with transparency, inclusiveness, and legitimacy... Read more
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Hormuz and the Invisible Fractures: The Price of a Distant War - Views from the New South
Driven by its mission to reflect on and analyze the major geopolitical, economic, and societal transformations shaping the contemporary world, and with a view to contributing to knowledge-sharing and disseminating the main outcomes of its research program, the Policy Center for the New South regularly publishes collective volumes addressing issues of particular importance to Morocco, Africa, and the broader Global/New South. In this spirit, the Center presents a new contribution examining the impact of the conflict between the United States, Iran and Israel on different regions of the world, with a particular focus on Morocco and Africa... Read more
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Greening in the Wrong Places
Jorge Arbache and Otaviano Canuto
Decarbonization is reconfiguring global relative prices. As clean energy, natural capital, and location-specific assets become dominant industrial inputs, the relative cost of producing low-carbon goods is increasingly determined by geography. Two systematic distortions explain why the expected reallocation of investment toward renewable-rich economies remains incomplete... Read more
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Energy Transition: Is It Finally Happening?
Elbia Gannoum and Otaviano Canuto
The global energy transition is advancing, with renewables now cost-competitive and rapidly expanding worldwide. Yet fossil fuels remain dominant because their financial returns continue to outpace clean energy in many markets. The next phase will depend on carbon pricing, supportive public policies, and major investments in electrification, storage, and transmission infrastructure. Ultimately, the energy race of the 21st century will be about who can build and control integrated, resilient power systems... Read more
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Climate Change, Environmental Sustainability, and Moroccan Green Transition
Rim Berahab and Sabrine Emran
This chapter of the Oxford Handbook of the Moroccan Economy explores Morocco’s energy transition in the context of climate vulnerability and sustainable development goals. It examines the country’s shift toward renewable energy, diversification, and climate resilience between 2000 and 2022, alongside key institutional and regulatory reforms. The analysis highlights challenges such as fossil-fuel dependence, infrastructure constraints, and fragmented governance, while assessing the role of innovation, green finance, and international partnerships... Read more
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(FR) Global Energy Crisis : What Risks for African Economies?
Françis Perrin
The war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered a global energy crisis, disrupting oil and gas markets worldwide. In this episode of Africafé, Francis Perrin examines the implications for African economies, highlighting both the challenges facing energy-importing countries and the opportunities available to some producers. He also discusses the importance of refining capacity, energy security, and regional cooperation in strengthening the continent’s resilience to future shocks... Watch
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(AR) The Hormuz Crisis and the Fragmentation of the Global Energy System
Sabrine Emran
This episode explores the escalating tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and their implications for the stability of global energy markets amid rapidly evolving geopolitical shifts. It examines how the crisis has exposed the vulnerability of the international energy system and its dependence on critical strategic chokepoints. The discussion also considers the potential impact of disruptions on oil prices, inflation, and global economic growth... Watch
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Policy Center for the New South
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Ce traitement a été notifié et autorisé par la CNDP au titre du récépissé N° D-NL-718/2020
This processing has been notified and authorized by the CNDP under receipt N ° D-NL-718/2020
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