By: Professor Alhagi Manta Drammeh (FHEA, FRSA, UK, PGCerthe, UK)
It was Oswald Spengler, a German Philosopher and historian, who prophesied the decline of the West after the First World War, which he attributed to internal contradictions within the European society, the societal collapse, and the rejection of the Eurocentric perspective of history. His book, The Decline of the West, was in two volumes and published in 1920 at the end of the 20th century. In his analysis, brute military force without moral values will lead to a particular civilization’s decline and eventual collapse as it cannot produce ideas.
Similarly, an English philosopher and historian, Arnold Toynbee, wrote a 12-volume book, A Study of History. In this voluminous book, Toynbee examined more than twenty-six (26) civilisations and concluded that the ability of leaders to respond successfully and judiciously to challenges was important and crucial. Before the above scholars, we had Ibn Khladun who made a through analysis of world history in his Al-Muqaddimah meaning Prolegomena to world History in several volumes and concluded that to be leader of the world, a state had to have moral compass, values and ideas to lead otherwise it would collapse regardless of its ethnicity, race or religion. This idea has been echoed by other scholars who believe that history is not unilinear but cyclical. All early civilisations collapsed due to internal contradictions between ideals and reality, truth and falsehood, justice and injustice, morality and nihilism.
The world was euphoric following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and slowly, that euphoria faded as multiple countries rose to challenge the unipolar system dominated by the United States of America.
The frenzy the world is witnessing today from the merciless war on Gaza and the carnage in Ukraine to the war of the generals in Sudan is unprecedented. The United States, the most powerful country, must show its moral leadership to ensure that the war in Gaza stops, as it is working hard to bring the warring parties of Russia and Ukraine to negotiations. History has shown us that none wins a war. All are losers. In the end, there must be a diplomatic solution when common sense prevails, and emotions are put aside.
The manifestation of these contradictions is the financial war that the United States administration under President Trump has waged against almost all the countries by imposing an extraordinarily unbelievable tariff. This has led other countries to impose similar tariffs on US goods. In the end, the ordinary people will suffer.
The way forward is to promote justice, peaceful coexistence, and cooperation between countries. The rule of law must reign, and double standards in relations between countries must be avoided in order to keep global peace and security.
