From Gaza to Greenland: the butterfly effect that reshaped the world order

Its true significance is systemic: it has exposed the structural fragility of the international order born after the Second World War and the inability of multilateral institutions to respond to the challenges of the present. 

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the fundamental principle underpinning the global legal architecture – the prohibition of war outside the framework of international law – began to erode. That intervention, carried out without Security Council authorisation and based on arguments that were later disproved, marked the beginning of an era in which force once again prevailed over the rule of law. Gaza has confirmed that this process was not an anomaly, but a trend. 

The international response to the humanitarian devastation in the Strip has been, at best, rhetorical. The Security Council remains paralysed by the political use of the veto, while the United Nations lacks effective mechanisms to enforce its resolutions. This disconnect between legal discourse and reality on the ground has severely weakened the credibility of the multilateral system. 

Beyond the humanitarian tragedy, Gaza has revealed a crisis of moral coherence in the West. The principles of human rights and the protection of civilians are applied selectively, subordinated to strategic interests. This double standard not only damages international legitimacy, but also fuels the perception of an unjust and asymmetrical global order. 

In this context of structural mistrust, political approaches based on unilateralism are resurgent. ‘Trumpism,’ more than a personal figure, represents a doctrine: prioritising force, economic pressure and transactional negotiation over multilateralism. Recent statements on Venezuela, Latin America and Greenland reflect a geopolitical vision that normalises the logic of direct influence over the sovereignty of other states.

The proposal to acquire Greenland, although presented as a pragmatic operation, called into question an essential principle of the Western system: respect for sovereignty among allies. When a NATO member sees its territorial integrity treated as a negotiable issue, the credibility of the Atlantic Alliance enters a zone of uncertainty.

At the same time, the war in Ukraine continues to redefine European security. Far from being a conflict with a resolution on the horizon, it has become a scenario of prolonged attrition, with economic, energy and strategic impacts affecting the entire international system. Neither multilateral diplomacy nor existing institutional frameworks have managed to generate a sustainable solution.

In parallel, China is advancing with a strategy of silent influence. Without resorting to universal ideological discourse, Beijing is consolidating its presence through investment, technology and commercial expansion. In a world where moral legitimacy is weakening, economic performance is becoming a more effective tool of power than any rhetoric.

Gaza, in this sense, is not the origin of global transformation, but it is its symbolic catalyst. It has exposed the contradictions of the current order and accelerated a transition towards a more fragmented, less normative and more competitive system. 

The United Nations, conceived as the guarantor of international balance, now operates more as a forum for debate than as an actor with executive capacity. 

Without a profound reform of its governance structure, especially the Security Council, its influence will continue to decline in the face of real power dynamics.

We are not facing a clearly defined new world order, but rather a transition phase characterised by uncertainty, the erosion of norms and the reconfiguration of alliances. The system is not collapsing abruptly; it is gradually wearing away, exception after exception.

The Gaza conflict has served as an uncomfortable mirror: it has shown that international law no longer guarantees effective protection for the most vulnerable. In an environment where force and strategic interests outweigh legality, the global balance is becoming increasingly unstable.

We are living in a moment of historic redefinition. Understanding these dynamics is not just an academic exercise, but a strategic necessity in order to anticipate the direction of a world that is irreversibly moving away from the model that emerged in 1945.

Abdelhay Korret, Moroccan journalist and writer