The main conflicts tearing the planet apart
On the occasion of the publication of our file “The West against the rest of the world” (International mailo 1750, dated Thursday May 16, 2024), we have chosen to represent on the same map the main conflicts tearing the planet apart today, but also the areas of tension which could lead to others. And definitively question the order inherited from the Second World War.
In a world turned upside down by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, even the borders are no longer so certain and assured, worries El País. The areas of tension are not limited to these two perimeters. Far from there. Beijing’s ambitions in China Seathe threat that constantly weighs on Taiwanjust like the Venezuela’s recent stated desire to claim Essequiboprovince of Guyana, or the ongoing conflict in Yemen, give the impression of a world on the verge of imploding, without international institutions, increasingly contested, being able to really intervene.
So, “is China working to impose on the land, on the sea and in the air a policy of fait accompli, relieving El País. A grab for territory, international waters and airspace in which it challenges less powerful countries, but also powers like India.”
These are the threats that we have brought together in this map produced by cartographer Philippe Godefroy. A list far from being exhaustive… or definitive.
In fact, “Global South”, “Global North”, “The West versus the Rest” are all formulas, used more and more, which attempt to tell the story of a world that is tensing and fracturing.
Already, with the war led by Russia against Ukraine, the world had begun to divide, with some countries condemning Russian aggression, and others, like many African states, preferring a position of neutrality. But the war in Gaza has further accentuated this gap: the West is now contested head-on, accused of “double standards” in the application of international law.
The world order born from the Second World War is wavering, questions are dangerously increasing. And, for the moment, nothing solid has appeared that would allow us to forge a counter-model.
