From Europe to Africa to Asia, the world is witnessing military conflicts. The recent missile attack by Iran on Israel in support of its proxy, Hezbollah, highlights how a section of the international community is increasingly disregarding the United Nations. Established after World War II to maintain international peace and security, foster friendly relations among nations, and promote international cooperation, the UN has repeatedly failed to prevent global conflicts in recent years. One primary reason is that the UN system, influenced by the United States, has not adapted to the shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world.
After World War II, the US and the Soviet Union (with Russia at its centre) were the two dominant global powers. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia is now a declining economy. Likewise, countries like Germany, France, and the UK—members of the G7—are also experiencing decline. Meanwhile, power gradually shifts towards developing nations such as Bharats, China, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. Ironically, despite being the world’s largest democracy and a significant power in Asia, Bharat is still not a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Excluding important countries like Bharat from the global security decision-making process underscores how the US-driven UN system is increasingly out of touch with current global realities.
Israel-Iran War
The origin of the Israel-Iran conflict is very old. However, the significant escalation started when Israel started ground operations against Hamas terrorist after the October terror attack in 2023. Hundreds of Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack supported by rockets and armed drones, killing nearly 1,200 people and kidnapping at least 240 in Israel. Notably, Hamas is a radical Sunni terrorist group supported by Iran and other countries. This did not stop there. Hezbollah, a terrorist group and proxy of Iran, also started targeting Israel from Lebanon’s side. As a result, Israel started military operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah and killed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, in an airstrike in Beirut on September 27, 2024. The most interesting fact is that Iran jumped into this war and targeted Israel with 200 missiles on October 1, 2024. Even Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of public mourning for Hassan Nasrallah. Isn’t this an open acknowledgement by Iran of its proxy? And how can a country that claims to be for the peace in the region support terrorist organisations? Hezbollah is not the only one which is armed and financed by Iran. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, Iran has built a network of proxies across the West Asia. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the elite Quds Force provided arms, training and financial support to militias and political movements in at least six countries: Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen. According to the US State Department, Iran has used partner and proxy groups such as Hezballah, Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, the Bahraini Al-Ashtar Brigades, and the Iraqi Shia militia groups Kata’ib Hezballah and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq to target its enemy. Since 2012, Iran has spent millions of dollars aiding the Houthis in Yemen to target Western forces and its allies. This is similar to what Pakistan does to Sunni terrorist groups to target Bharat. However, this also reveals the hypocrisy of the West and the UN, which neither condemn nor take action against Pakistan’s proxies.
Like Asia and Europe, Africa is also going various military conflicts and political turmoil. According to Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Africa has witnessed about nine military coup. There is an allegation that all these have been done due to influence of foreign forces
Russia-Ukraine War
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, which it called special military operation. This was a major escalation of the Russia-Ukrainian war, which started in 2014. According to an estimate, about one million people have lost their lives or injured in the last two years. As per reports about 70,000 Russian soldiers and 80, 000 Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives. The justification given by Russia for this invasion is that the US and European countries are using Ukraine as a proxy to wage war against it, with the aim of inflicting a strategic defeat. This war has cost both countries massively. As per the data available, the combined direct military expenditures, economic losses, and long-term recovery efforts point out a cost of over $1 trillion for both nations till February 2024.
Ironically, the United Nations has failed to bring both parties on the table to resolve the conflict. Even the United States, which took responsibility to resolve global disputes, is arming Ukraine instead of resolving this war, which has created problems for European countries. Due to this war, Europe has the highest inflation as of now.
Conflict in South China Sea
The biggest failure of United Nations has been on China’s front, which is threatening all of its neighbours and it has territorial disputes with 18 countries, including Bharat. China has deliberately escalated its military intimidation against Taiwan and attempted to unilaterally alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. This has violated the prohibition on the use of force and the principle of settling disputes by peaceful means as set forth in the UN Charter.
Political turmoil and Civil War in Africa
Like Asia and Europe, Africa is also enduring various military conflicts and political turmoil. According to Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Africa has witnessed about nine military coups. There is an allegation that all these have been done due to influence of foreign forces.
Sudan: On October 25, 2021, soldiers led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane chased out the transitional civilian leaders, who were supposed to lead the country towards democracy after 30 years of dictatorship of Omar al-Bashi. Since April 15, 2023, a war due to a power struggle between General Burhane and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdane has killed at least 15,000 people in the country. and more than 8.2 million have been displaced.
Guinea: On September 5, 2021, President Alpha was overthrown by a military coup. And the very next month, on October 1, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya became president.
Niger: On July 26, 2023, the military in the country announced that they had overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum, and General Abdourahamane Tiani became the new strongman of the country.
Mali: On August 18, 2020, the military overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar, and a transitional Government was formed in October. But on May, 24, 2021, the military arrested Prime Minister and the president.
Inflation and rising unemployment
Due to the war in Ukraine, West Asia and Africa, inflation in these region continue to rise. The Europe is going through very tough times due to rising energy prices as Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas to Europe, and the war has caused price rise. The war has also disrupted exports of essential commodities like gas, oil, food, and metals, which has increased inflation.
Democratic subversion and Information warfare
The US, which claims to be the biggest messiah of free speech, has used these platforms to subvert and manipulate democratic processes across the globe. The country has used technology to interfere in elections in various countries. Not all the battles are won in the battlefield. Due to the advent of social media, Information warfare has emerged as key area for rivals to win. During the Russia-Ukraine War, both countries have shared video footage and photos of their military operations to create a positive narrative in their favour. However, Russia was banned from every social media platform owned by the US-based organisation. And this shows strategic importance of information warfare.
Is the World at War?
The world has witnessed two major wars in the last century, resulting in the deaths of millions of people and widespread displacement. During World War I (July 1914 –November 1918), military and civilian casualties totalled about 40 million. The total cost of the War was $334 billion. During World War II (September 1939 – September 1945), nearly 15 million military personnel and about 40 million civilians were killed, with the total cost exceeding $4 trillion and fighting costs over $1 trillion. Now the question arises: Is the world heading towards World War III? Looking at the global military conflicts, it becomes crystal clear that the US-made world order is crumbling and this model has totally failed to prevent wars. It is high time that the US accepts the reality of multipolar world and provides space to other responsible countries like Bharat to save the world from the growing threat of war.
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