Alvin Botes is South Africa's Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

We have maintained a clear position that wars can only be prevented through dialogue without conditions, and that once wars have started, the only way to end them is through negotiations.

The global order has remained relatively static over the past 70 years, that is until recently. Up until two months ago, before the invasion of Ukraine, the post-World War 2 victors continued to be the dominant players shaping global politics. The war between Russia and Ukraine has laid bare the myth that the "end of history" is at hand given the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

The big powers continue to flex their muscles around the world with a sense of impunity. The numerous conflicts between the big powers themselves over the past few decades suggest that the Cold War never in fact ended.

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, conflict in fact proliferated. These conflicts violated the territorial integrity of other countries, as competing former Cold War adversaries exploited discontent within developing countries. They instigated violent conflict by arming factions which they believed would support their respective agendas...