Sick Structure and Rude Actors

Hanif Ghaffari / Ph.D. in International Relations - International relations neorealist Kenneth Waltz's "structuralism" theory has been analyzed, interpreted, and even replicated by its target audience on numerous occasions. According to Waltz, structures have a sort of overt or covert control over the actors that are defined within them; more tellingly, they either ensure or disprove the actors' ability to enter the structure or even continue their activity there.

According to this perspective, a structure becomes an intelligent system that can readily identify diverse actors and lay the foundation for their expulsion from the structure as a result of the rules, regulations, requirements, and norms that solidify during its formation.

The crimes, genocides, and occupations committed by the occupying regime of Jerusalem in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq over the last 15 months have escalated to the point where politicians and proponents of international law in today's world consider the occupation of Syria's Golan Heights to be commonplace.

The primary query is why the "structure-actor" relationship centered on the UN has not crystallized. More specifically, senior UN officials need to respond to this crucial and fundamental question: what framework have they put in place over the past eight decades (since the end of World War II) to safeguard nations' inherent, territorial, and human rights, and how effective is this framework?

Unquestionably, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his team have no clue how to respond to this basic question! The situation is straightforward but acrimonious: despite its arrogant name, the United Nations is essentially unable to establish a global order with unbreakable laws and duties, and rather than controlling actors' actions, it is impacted by them! Because it contributes roughly 20% of the UN's overall expenses, the US interprets every rule to its advantage and that of its allies at particular points in time, and it even unilaterally opposes the signing of a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

In such a structure, the occupying regime of Jerusalem dares to occupy the Syrian Golan Heights and expand its occupation in the West Bank! The reaction of the structure (United Nations) here is to issue non-binding and ridiculous statements that even the Lebanese and Palestinian public opinion is disgusted by studying their content.

As we approach the year 2025, it is more important than ever for humanity to move past the current system and replace it with one that can hold actors accountable for crimes and crimes against humanity. To declare the official end of the West's fabricated institutionalism in the international system, it is preferable to view the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria as the theme and a turning point for the fulfillment of this global demand.