Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has found itself as the sole superpower in the international system. However, it has paid a heavy price for this singular dominance. Its adoption of a unipolar model and its unilateral management of global crises led to cumulative economic and financial exhaustion, accelerating the pace of crises and structural breakdowns within the capitalist system itself.

On January 18, 2026, the Syrian interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, signed an agreement for a ceasefire, and the full integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian army. This followed rapid security and military developments in the preceding days.

In the Arab world, it has long been promoted that political stability is a prerequisite for economic development, and that any political openness could lead to chaos and hinder growth. The dichotomy of political stability versus development has become one of the most prevalent themes in Arab political discourse since the post-independence era.

In a world exhausted by wars, the word “peace” appears enticing enough to be placed atop the largest and most ambiguous projects. And when wounded and battered Gaza is invoked as the banner for a new international board of peace, one is led to believe that the world has finally decided to listen to the pain.