African Philosophical Perspectives on South Africa’s Contribution to Global Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding: Insights from the Israel-Palestine Dispute
Phemelo Olifile Marumo 
& Thabang Richard Motswaledi
Issue: Vol.6 No.10 Article 35 pp.2721 – 2728
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561035 | Published online 30th September, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The Russian-Ukraine conflict drew Africa’s attention, which saw an opportunity to promote its philosophy of Ubuntu. This is where South and African leaders emphasize the principles of nation-building and peace initiatives. Additionally, African leaders further urged the leaders of both states to follow Ubuntu’s principles to prevent further humanitarian crises. In the same breath, South Africa also depicted such attributes in the stance against Israel’s brutality towards Palestinians in Gaza, highlighting the genocide and mass killings. South Africa argued that this cannot be condoned in any way, hence advocating for communalism and peace. South Africa believes that communalism through intense consensus can bring peace and stability to the Gaza war. This action reflects the Ubuntu principle of social justice and reconciliation advocated by the late Rev. Desmond Tutu. From this perspective, the paper employs a qualitative research method, including a desktop study and search engines, to examine South Africa’s contribution to global conflict resolution and peacebuilding, using the Israel-Palestine dispute as a case study. The findings show that South Africa has contributed a lot of philosophical perspectives, such as Ubuntu, communalism, and villagisation in Africa. Thus, the paper concludes that South Africa, like other African leaders, advocates for conflict resolution and peacebuilding in the Middle East conflict, and achieves these through the application of African philosophy.
Keywords: Israel-Palestine, South Africa, Conflict Resolution, African Philosophy, Peacebuilding
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Prof. Phemelo Olifile Marumo is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director in the Faculty of Humanities, School of Philosophy, at Northwest University. He primarily focuses on the philosophical perspectives in teaching and learning. He is an active member of various academic committees and has worked with NWU’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Prof. Marumo’s research area of interest is African Philosophy and its attributes. He has contributed to several book chapters and has published in different accredited local and international journals.
Thabang Motswaledi is a PhD Student at the Department of Political Studies and International Relations at North WestUniversity. He graduated his MA in political studies with cum laude where he investigated the responses of SOE’s to the energy crisis in South Africa and Nigeria through a comparative study. Henceforth, he is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in political studies, specializing in human security, energy poverty, and the political economy of energy in South Africa as well as the African continent.
Marumo, Phemelo Olifile, and Thabang Richard Motswaledi.“ African Philosophical Perspectives on South Africa’s Contribution to Global Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding: Insights from the Israel-Palestine Dispute,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 10 (2025): 2721 – 2728, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561035
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
