Global Power Plays and South Africa’s Strategic Tightrope

US President Donald Trump

Hey guys,

It’s been a while since I last jotted something down here, and a lot has happened since my review of The Dark Prince. Frankly, the world has been on fast-forward, and Donald Trump, once again, is at the centre of the chaos.

Internationally, we’ve watched Trump lurch from one provocation to the next: from the United States’ brazen illegal invasion in Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on drug charges; to US Embassy wagging its finger at South Africa over maritime drills that included Iran; to Trump openly floating the idea of taking Greenland out of Danish control.

Trump used his address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this week to do what he does best: talk about himself. He cast himself as the last true defender of “Western values” while berating European leaders for weakness, dependence, and a lack of spine. Then came the Greenland comments. With the world watching, he casually stated: “People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

As if that reassurance alone should calm anyone.

Soon after, he took to Truth Social to boast about a “productive meeting” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and claimed they had laid the groundwork for a future deal on Greenland. Denmark, of course, disputes this, but that’s beside the point. The real message was never about Greenland. It was about power, intimidation, and keeping allies permanently off-balance.

And if anyone thought Trump would stop there, they haven’t been paying attention. He doubled down on his long-debunked lie about a so-called “white genocide” in South Africa, declaring: “Terrible situation. People, a certain group of people, are unbelievable… We’ve seen the numbers, we’ve seen the records, and it is taking place.” No evidence. No facts. Just recycled grievance politics aimed squarely at his base.

Throughout the speech, Trump was openly contemptuous. He referred to Somali people as “low IQ” and accusing immigrants of looting America dry. It was crude, offensive, and deliberate. This is not a man misspeaking; this is a political strategy built on provocation and division.

What’s striking, though, is that the spell is starting to break. Some leaders are finally pushing back. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, didn’t mince his words at Davos, warning that the so-called rules-based international order has become a “fiction” and urged smaller states to build new alliances to avoid being crushed by self-interested great powers. Even in Europe, patience is wearing thin. Danish MEP Anders Vistisen was reprimanded after bluntly telling Trump to “fuck off.” Crude? Yes. But also revealing of the growing frustration.

Danish MEP Anders Vistisen

So what does all of this mean geopolitically?

It means the post-World War II order is being hollowed out in real time. Trump’s foreign policy is not about alliances, values, or stability. It is about leverage. Everything is transactional. Everything is negotiable. Territory, sovereignty, truth itself. This kind of politics weakens NATO, emboldens Russia and China, and forces smaller countries into impossible choices. When the most powerful country in the world starts behaving like a bully instead of a guarantor of norms, the entire system becomes more volatile, and far more dangerous.

And South Africa is not watching this from the sidelines.

Locally, South Africans were left stunned when it emerged that an explicit instruction by President Cyril Ramaphosa — the commander-in-chief of the SA National Defence Force — that Iran must not participate in the Will for Peace naval exercise was ignored. Despite that directive, Iranian vessels joined Russia, China, and the UAE in South African waters.

Ramaphosa has since announced a board of inquiry to investigate how this happened. But let’s be clear: this is not a minor administrative slip. This is a serious breakdown in civil-military control. If orders from the president can be disregarded without consequence, then we have a far bigger problem than one naval exercise.

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Geopolitically, South Africa is walking a tightrope. On one side, it insists on strategic autonomy, non-alignment, and stronger ties with BRICS partners. On the other, it faces mounting pressure from the United States and Europe. Pressure that carries real economic and diplomatic consequences. Mixed signals, internal contradictions, and a lack of coherence only weaken our hand and invite external interference.

At a time when global power is being aggressively reshuffled, South Africa cannot afford confusion or defiance within its own security structures. Foreign policy is a matter of national interest, constitutional order, and credibility on the world stage.

This is why these conversations matter. This is why silence is not an option.

If you care about geopolitics without the sanitised nonsense, about South Africa’s place in a rapidly fragmenting world, and about calling power exactly what it is, then follow me on @luyolomkentane. 

The wrecking ball is swinging. We can either pretend it is not, or we can face it head-on.