When you look at what's going on globally with vaccine nationalism, the appeal of China's continued rise in parts of the world makes perfect sense.

Beyond hazy platitudes of UN-speak, what does the "liberal international order" mean for, say, Indians right now? or for Africans?

Imagine being from a country where COVID rates are rising and vaccination rates are low.

You would like to do something about both, only to be told by countries who trot out the platitudes about "global solidarity" that western corporations and citizens come before your lives.

Now imagine that those same countries, in the same breath, tell you the worst things about China. About how China practices "debt-trap diplomacy" and is exporting "digital authoritarianism" to you and your neighbors.

All of this while your economy craters and people are sick.

If all of this sounds bizarre and almost like gaslighting, well, this is effectively what US - and other western countries' - foreign policy towards millions of ppl around the world is like, and always has felt like.

These people form the majority of the global population, BTW.

For the record, this doesn't absolve governments in these countries of abdicating their duties towards their citizens. I've always had smoke for African governments who did little other than sic the security forces on the public.

But let's let "global solidarity" count for once.

Apropos of my tweetstorm (shouts to @jamiltoyo for the hookup), this thread offers further clarity about the same theme in my thread.

I don't want to say Africa is on its own should new waves break out across different countries, but Africa is on its own. https://twitter.com/CKyobutungi/status/1386268814745260032?s=19