Read Time: 4 minutes
*By Makiza Micheline Latifa*
Eighty years after the victory of the Anti-Fascist War, the world finds itself grappling with rising forms of domination; economic, technological and informational. Across Africa, Asia and Latin America, scholars and policymakers warn that old structures of imperial power are re-emerging in new guises, threatening sovereignty, peace and collective development.
It is against this global backdrop that delegates from the Global South have convened in Shanghai for the 2025 Global South Academic Forum, an event that seeks to revive historical lessons from anti-fascist and anti-imperialist struggles and apply them to the challenges of the 21st century.
Hosted jointly by the East China Normal University, the University of Johannesburg, and the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, the forum draws on the theme *“The Victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the Postwar International Order: Past and Future.”* Rather than treating history as a commemoration, participants are using it as a lens to interrogate contemporary forms of hegemony and the unfinished project of building a fairer global order.
Revisiting History to understand the Present; Keynotes Set Tone
The opening conference began with reflections that bridged the past and the present, underscoring how anti-fascist struggles of the 20th century resonate powerfully with systemic inequalities facing the Global South today.
In a characteristically incisive keynote, Director of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Vijay Prashad, drew direct parallels between the 20th-century fascist ambitions and today’s systems of global control. He reflected on the decisions at the end of the WW II;
“It was unnecessary for the United States to conduct the Trinity Test in July 1945, and it was unnecessary to drop the atomic bombs in Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. The immense sacrifice of Soviet Citizens, the Chinese communists, and the Chinese patriots had already made the use of such weapons of mass destruction preventable. That the imperialist chose to use them tells us everything about the violent disregard for human life that defines the imperialist culture, something we are seeing again today in Gaza he said”.
According to him, one of the greatest lies of the 20th century is that Western Allies led the fight against fascism from the beginning, and that they were the ones who won the war.
Vijay, argued that Global South unity must extend beyond diplomacy into shared knowledge production, technological independence, and policy collaboration. Reviving the anti-fascist spirit, he stressed, means reclaiming agency in shaping global norms, institutions, and futures.
Distinguished Professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof Li Shenming, also delivered an address that framed the current geopolitical moment as “a crossroad in history.”
“We are once again at the crossroads of history he said, the world is witnessing new forms of domination that threaten peace. China will not bend to hegemony neither should the nations of the Global South”
He further emphasized China’s role in defending peace and sovereignty, asserting that if new empires emerge to impose dominance, the nations of the Global South must respond with collective courage and a shared commitment to humanity. According to him, integrating Marxist analysis with patriotic responsibility is crucial to challenging hegemonic powers and building a world order grounded in justice.
The panel discussions of the day explored layered historical dimensions of contemporary global injustices. *The Eastern Battlefield of the Anti-Fascist War,* examined how East Asia’s wartime sacrifices shaped the foundations of the postwar world order and how those lessons remain vital to regional peace today.
The panel dubbed, *“Beyond the Cold War: The Yalta System, The United Nations and the Postwar International Order”* revisited the diplomatic architecture that has shaped global politics for decades, questioning its ability to respond to current power imbalances.
Whiles the panel on *“The Post-War Global South and New Development in the Non-Aligned Movement”* traced the enduring significance of the non-aligned tradition, especially at a time when the world risks sliding back into polarized blocs and coercive alliances.
A special panel on *Northeast Asia* concluded the discussions, with a focus on the region’s continued struggle for stability amidst intensifying geopolitical tensions.
A Global Movement Rooted in Resistance and Hope
What emerged in the opening conference was a clear sense that the Global South has never being a passive observer of global change. Instead, scholars, policymakers, and activists are articulating a transformative vision, one that rejects the inevitability of hegemonic domination and insists on a world order anchored in sovereignty, dignity and peace.
By revisiting the memory of the anti-fascist war, participants are not merely honoring history, they are using it to forge a renewed political imagination capable of confronting the crises of the 21st century.
As the conversations continue, one message is clear, the struggle for global justice is far from over, and the Global South intends to drive it.
