Photo: Government of China/via Public Photos
The beginning of 2024 was marked by speeches and actions by dictators China, Russia, North Korea and Iranhighlighting a crisis of leadership and a further step toward the end of Pax Americana, a period of relative world peace after World War II.
The American President Joe BidenOctogenarian and with little popularity, seems unable to effectively manage the situation of escalating tensions in the world in a year in which he will seek a very violent and stressful reelection against him Donald Trump.
European leaders like Emmanuel Macron (France), Olaf Scholz (Germany) or Rishi Sunak (United Kingdom) also do not have the necessary conditions for progress in peace negotiations. Even in Latin America, a region that has seen little recent war, Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela) felt comfortable announcing the invasion of neighboring Guyana. This is no coincidence.
China and Taiwan
Xi Jinping, President of China, reiterated his intention to do so “reunite” Taiwan with China, a sensitive issue since its separation in 1949. China has increased its military pressure in the region through frequent military exercises. Taiwan, a democracy, rejects reunification with the Chinese communist dictatorship.
Russia and Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists on this Your country will not give in in the war against Ukraine, which began with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and intensified with the renewed invasion in February 2022. This conflict has already resulted in thousands of deaths and displacement. For Putin's ideologue Alexandr Dugin, “World War III has already begun.”
North Korea
Kim Jongun, the tyrant of North Korea, announced this Prepare your army for a possible war, the intensification of weapons testing and the launch of military spy satellites. The Korean Peninsula has been a highvoltage region since the Korean War (19501953), and escalation is dangerous because the North Korean dictatorship has nuclear weapons.
Iran and Israel
Iran continues to fund groups like Hamas and radically rejects the existence of the State of Israel. In the Red Sea, the Houthis (or “Houthis”), a Yemeni rebel group also backed by Iran, have attacked merchant ships, increasing instability in the region.
The end of the USSR, a historical lesson in leadership
It is impossible to tell the story of the collapse of the USSR in the early 90s without mentioning the fundamental role of three world leaders: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Together they provided the political, military and moral support that enabled the Iron Curtain to be overcome without a single shot and a significant part of the world to be liberated from the rule of the Soviet imperialist dictatorship.
Without figures of this historical dimension on the world stage, the escalation of global conflicts in 2024 seems inevitable. The American elections taking place in November could point to a scenario of continuity or change.
“The Third World War has already begun”