“Hitler’s Mental Disease Comes to Donald Trump”

 

“Barbaric Power Politics: Donald Trump, the U.S., and the Domination of the Global North”

 

Dr Manoj Jinadasa (PhD in Digital Critical Media Studies, Newcastle, UK),  Senior  Lecturer and Head of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka- manojjina78@kln.ac.lk

It has become increasingly clear that the U.S.-led Global North continues to occupy dominant positions of power and wage wars against countries in the Global South. What we are witnessing reflects a renewed bipolar global divide between West and East, shaped by political, military, and ideological missions that often disregard humanitarian consequences.

While the current conflict centers on Iran, the broader issue is deeper and structural. The human cost of these geopolitical struggles is borne not by political leaders, but by innocent civilians — children, women, the poor, and even the natural environment. War repeatedly devastates the most vulnerable populations.

More than a century after the First World War, cycles of conflict persist. The twentieth century saw catastrophic violence, including the mass atrocities committed under Adolf Hitler. History demonstrates how extremist ideologies, nationalism, and authoritarian leadership can lead to global destruction. The psychological dimensions of leadership, including toxic masculinity and political extremism, remain relevant in contemporary discussions of global power.

Following the Second World War, international norms such as maritime law and naval ethics were established to prevent unilateral military aggression. Yet recent events, including U.S. naval actions in the Indian Ocean, raise serious questions about the application of international law and the exercise of hegemonic power. Such actions demonstrate that powerful states may still act unilaterally when strategic interests are at stake.

The legacy of the Second World War also shaped the creation of Israel and the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The historical trauma of European antisemitism and the Holocaust contributed to geopolitical restructuring in the Middle East. However, the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Palestine continues to generate humanitarian crises and global political tension. Jerusalem, one of the world’s most ancient and historically significant cities, remains at the center of contested sovereignty and identity.

Over the decades, the Middle East has experienced repeated interventions, regional wars, and proxy conflicts — including the Iran-Iraq War, the invasion of Iraq, and broader geopolitical rivalries involving the United States and its allies. More recently, tensions between Russia and Ukraine have further illustrated how global power competition continues to shape international conflict.

Today’s tensions with Iran must therefore be understood within this longer historical trajectory of global power struggles, military alliances, and ideological divisions.

Global powers and peace-making institutions, such as the United Nations Security Council and powerful national congresses, largely remain silent. They often create space to justify U.S. military actions, framing them as responses to nuclear threats. However, the real concern is the rise of other global powers, which the U.S. seeks to contain or limit. The emergence of China, India, Russia, and other Eastern powers, along with African and Global South nations forming strategic alliances, has shifted the global balance.

The U.S. attack on Iran appears to be part of a broader strategy that has been in motion for years. Naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, carried out over the past one to two years, indicate careful preparation and planning for the current conflict. These maneuvers demonstrate how military actions are rehearsed before being executed, almost like a prelude to the actual engagement.

Meanwhile, global northern powers, including the U.S., UK, France, Canada, and their allies, continue to prioritize the protection of their collective interests rather than addressing peace. In contrast, Eastern powers — including Russia, China, India, and broader Global South nations — must strengthen their alliances to counterbalance northern hegemony.

South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, in particular, need stronger regional cooperation and capacity-building in naval, air, and other strategic domains. This is essential to safeguard regional wealth, natural resources, and sovereignty. Both Iran and the U.S. may attempt to extend their conflicts into these regions, but regional powers must assert their independence and protect their political, military, and economic interests. The goal should be to stabilize, reconstruct, and energize regional power structures while resisting domination by either Western or U.S.-led camps.