News
Launch of the Munich Security Brief on the Global Debate About Double Standards
Our new Munich Security Brief (MSB) entitled “Standard Deviation” is now available. The author argues that criticism of Western double standards has not only become more vocal; it has also become a proxy debate about the value of universal rules and principles as such.
- The publication examines accusations of hypocrisy levelled against the West by countries in the so-called Global South, highlights the tensions involved in the debate about Western double standards, and includes suggestions for how the US and European countries should change course.
- The publication also includes new survey data from nine populous countries in the Global South that reveal how their societies judge Western and other countries' record of compliance with international rules and what they think about the merit of universal principles as such.
Read the Report
Accusations that the West is guilty of double standards seem omnipresent these days
According to many governments in the Global South, Western states all too frequently deviate from their ostensible foreign policy principles or follow them inconsistently. In a new MSB, entitled “Standard Deviation,” Sophie Eisentraut, the Munich Security Conference’s (MSC´s) Head of Research & Publications, argues that criticism of Western double standards has not only become more vocal; it has also become a proxy debate about the value of universal rules and principles as such.
The US and European countries, the author argues, have no choice but to take accusations of hypocrisy more seriously. Yet, finding a response that ends up strengthening international principles and rules also requires a better understanding of how governments’ double standards debate plays out in the court of public opinion. In this regard, new survey results from nine populous countries in the Global South provide some valuable initial insights. The data, featured in this publication, sheds light on how people in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey judge Western and other countries’ record of rule compliance and what they think about the merit of universal principles and the rules-based order as such.
Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, Chairman of the MSC, commented that “at events of the Munich Security Conference, accusations that the West is guilty of double standards are regularly voiced.” Heusgen also cautioned that “some of those who accuse the West of double standards – China and Russia in particular – only want to distract from their own rule violations.” He further urged that “we need to ensure that the ongoing debate around double standards becomes a more constructive one – one that actually helps strengthen the rules of the road.”
This MSB was supported by funds from the Otto Wolff Stiftung. The MSC gratefully acknowledges the generous support.
In case of further questions regarding the MSB, please contact us via press@securityconference.organd we are happy to arrange an interview with the author Sophie Eisentraut.
About Munich Security Briefs
With its MSBs, the MSC aims to contribute to ongoing debates on a particular issue within the broad field of international security. The briefs are meant to provide an overview of a recent security challenge, development, or debate and analyze its policy implications and strategic consequences. They generally express the opinion of their author(s) rather than any position of the MSC.
