This chapter examines the role of the Global South in international security. In a constantly changing global political environment, certain States from the South occupy a pivotal position when it comes to addressing specific security crises, be it due to their regional leadership or because they are otherwise regarded as indispensable brokers in highly complex political and cultural constellations. In terms of insecurity, the South is no longer primarily regarded as a bloody theatre of major power confrontation, but as a source of insecurity in and of itself. The chapter then considers some of the evolving contours of the law and governance of global security. There is a growing reliance on ad hoc arrangements that contribute to the decentralization and deformalization of the classical international security architecture centred on treaties and international institutions. Also, the merger of security and development is undergoing profound transformations, as shown by the ongoing United Nations peacebuilding review, and by dynamically evolving practices on counter-terrorism focused on resilience-building in communities and amongst ordinary people. Paradoxically, while these practices are, to a great extent, driven by the growing agency of the South, their consequences seem to partly curtail this agency. Finally, the chapter refers to studies that trace the trajectories of globally informed and locally applied security practices, paying attention to the aforementioned paradox.
THE POLITICAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF JUSTICE: REVIEWING ANTJIE KROG’S COUNTRY OF MY SKULL AND THE APPLICATION OF AFRICAN JURISPRUDENCE
