(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Al-Fanar Media).
The modern global order continues to operate within a structure shaped by imperial power—one that resists true sovereignty for nations outside its sphere of control. A sovereign country governs its own resources, knowledge, and future. That independence limits external influence. For that reason, it is often not tolerated.
Instead, regimes that comply with dominant Western interests are supported, while those that resist are sanctioned, destabilised, or attacked. This produces a predictable outcome: governments that serve external power rather than their own people, and populations that eventually resist. When they do, they are labelled as extremists, terrorists, or threats to civilisation. Meanwhile, those exercising power present themselves as moral, lawful, and civilised.
This pattern is not new. What is new is how visible it has become.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Gaza. What is unfolding has been described by many scholars and observers as a genocide. Beyond the immense human toll, it is also the systematic destruction of a society’s ability to exist, think, and rebuild. Universities have been destroyed. Students, professors, and researchers have been killed. According to Scholars at Risk (an international network of academic institutions), higher education institutions across Gaza have been rendered inoperable, and large parts of its intellectual community have been wiped out.
