EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH IN CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Abstract

Abstract. The spread of artificial intelligence (AI) systems is already reshaping how states interact in an increasingly multipolar international environment. It puts additional pressure on traditional multilateral formats, encourages great powers to rely on narrower, selective coalitions, and creates openings for countries of the Global South to advance their own agendas. For Ukraine, which operates under wartime constraints, this dynamic is directly linked to balancing security needs and external cooperation. The article examines how the diffusion of AI is changing the principles and practical rules that structure interstate behaviour, and what opportunities this creates for coordinated initiatives by Global South countries aimed at supporting political stability in the international order. The study relies on targeted qualitative content analysis of leading policy reports and academic publications from 2024–2025, structured comparison of the positions of major powers and groups of Global South states, and elements of process tracing using examples from AI policy. AI is emerging as an independent driver of rule change in international relations. Instead of slow-moving universal regimes, we increasingly observe a layered architecture: a minimal set of shared global signposts, more detailed regional regulatory solutions, and selective coalitions of states that adopt compatible standards. The Global South does not act as a single bloc, but specific states are able to propose practical standards for transparency, accountability and interoperability with relatively low coordination costs. For Ukraine, an effective approach is a “security–cooperation” strategy: joining focused coalitions in AI-related areas that matter for defence, resilience and productivity, while insisting on transparency, accountability and technical interoperability in order to avoid asymmetric dependencies.

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Received: 03.01.26 / Revised: 28.01.26 / Accepted: 18.03.26 / Published:30.03.26