NATO calls itself the strongest and most successful defense alliance in the world. But this view is not universal. Countries in Africa and Asia regard the organization with skepticism and distrust, accusing it of double standards and hypocrisy. Russia’s war on Ukraine has further divided the world and revealed a deep disconnect between NATO countries and the so-called Global South. The West considers Russia’s aggression as a blatant violation of international law. Emerging powers like India or South Africa, however, refuse to cut ties with the Kremlin. The documentary analyses how the disconnect came about and what the prevailing perspectives are in Africa and Asia. Can the West write the concerns off as pure Russian disinformation? Or is the mistrust of NATO - a defense alliance formed 75 years ago - deeply rooted in its own history and actions? We speak to decision makers and advisors in South Africa and India, but also in the US and Europe, about the different views of Russia's war in Ukraine and NATO's support for Kyiv. The film seeks answers on whether there can be a path to reconciliation between NATO and the NATO-skeptical countries in the Global South. And what role - if any - the NATO alliance can play in an emerging multipolar world. #documentary #dwdocumentary #NATO #GlobalSouth ______ DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch top documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events. Subscribe and explore the world around you with DW Documentary. Subscribe to: ⮞ DW Documentary (English): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocumentary ⮞ DW Documental (Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocumental ⮞ DW Documentary وثائقية دي دبليو (Arabic): https://www.youtube.com/dwdocarabia ⮞ DW Doku (German): https://www.youtube.com/dwdoku ⮞ DW Documentary हिन्दी (Hindi): https://www.youtube.com/dwdochindi For more visit: http://www.dw.com/en/tv/docfilm/s-3610 Follow DW Documentary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwdocumentary/ Follow DW Documental on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dwdocumental We kindly ask viewers to read and stick to the DW netiquette policy on our channel: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G

In 1973, Raini village of Chamoli district faced a threat from loggers who wanted to cut their forest. Gaura Devi and 27 other women decided to tackle the loggers. They confronted and challenged the men to shoot her instead of cutting down the trees and they described the forest as "Vandevta" (God of Jungle) and her maika (mother's house). Finally, the women of Raini managed to halt the work of loggers by hugging the trees despite the abuse and threats of the armed loggers. The movement is an inspiration to many environmental movements across the world and is famously known as the ‘Chipko movement’. Since the formation of Uttarakhand in 2000, developmental projects in the Himalayas are not only robbing Raini villagers of the forest that they once saved, but also threatening their village's existence by forcing them to be displaced. Duka Devi, one of the many women of the Chipko movement, said, “I don't want to leave my village, my soil. But the circumstances are forcing me to leave. My heart doesn't want to let go. Nothing can replace my village.”

Sarveshwar Prasad’s family is among the very few people in his village in northern India’s Uttarakhand state who have not migrated away out of fear of leopards. These wild cats are often seen wandering in residential areas in the state’s Pauri Garhwal district and sometimes mauling humans, even to death. Called Noliyo and situated in the Garhwal Himalayas, the village now looks deserted, even as the remaining few families are also planning to move out. The human-wildlife conflict caries on amid what appears to be the government’s neglect of the residents’ plight.

Every winter, a thick blanket of smog engulfs Delhi and the National Capital Region as farmers in the states of Punjab and Haryana burn millions of tonnes of paddy stubble to clear their farms for the sowing of wheat. When the skies over Delhi began to fill with smoke in October 2020, we began tracing the smog from Punjab to Delhi while also looking at efforts being made to deal with the crisis. We wanted to find out if the farmers could be blamed for it, or was it due to the government’s failure to offer an alternative to stubble burning?

Mohammed Arif, a resident of Khori Gaon village in the northern state of Haryana, awaits the demolition of his house, just as more than 100,000 other area residents do after the Supreme Court of India’s ruling that the village sits 'illegally' on a forest land.