Learning from international conflicts.

“Humans have long been concerned about the final collapse of civilizations, but today more than ever the world has become a frightening place: religious wars, international terrorism and genocides are constantly in the news and, with access to the Internet , the information age will have led to the age of anxiety”. (Sylvia Browne)

Indeed, the world is in turmoil. On virtually every continent on our planet, people are waking up, and the wind of protest is rising in many capitals, in opposition to the power in place. Is it possible to see similarities between these different movements? What can they have in common? These protests first have a certain meaning for the concept of democracy. Some democracies are marked by the rise of a form of nationalism, of withdrawal, exploited by some of their conservative politicians – this is the case of Viktor Orbán -, who readily speak of “illiberal democracy”.

If each case is indeed unique, many nevertheless follow a form of logic that is ultimately quite similar, of which here are some essential elements: It is, often, the youth who carry the torch of protest. It is not a question of the poorest, nor of the least or most educated, but of the young, those who have the future ahead of them in, if I dare say, biological terms, but who, from a point of view economic, social or political view, have the feeling of not having a future.

If the nature of the protests can take on diverse contours, the message they carry sometimes has elements in common, such as the denunciation of the corruption of the elites in power or the rejection of social inequalities that are too glaring. In a certain number of countries, the political explosion is most often the product of a questioning of the existing status quo by those in power itself.

Let us think, in Iran, of this spectacular increase in the price of gasoline, or, in Hong Kong, of the questioning of the formula “one state, two systems” symbolized by the end of the jurisdictional exception of Hong Kong and this famous extradition law. A dialectical logic follows, the crowd taking to the streets in opposition to this upset balance, then the crowd subsequently repressed, the repression further strengthening this popular opposition. In other cases, I am thinking here of Lebanon or Chile, there are straws that break an already very full social vase, and quickly transform economic anger into a political revolt. It is also, probably, the direct consequence of globalization increasingly perceived as unfortunate. The great crisis of 2008 is no stranger to this.

The world is in turmoil today, because it is moving in all directions. On the one hand, nationalism is growing, on the other hand, liberal currents could prove resilient.
Everywhere, there is social protest or resistance. The situation in certain European countries is indicative of this turmoil. (Dominique Moïsi)

What does the Bible say about this turbulence? Will there be a way out of this?

JEREMIE TCHINDEBE

Read the free exract of the book’s “Why This Tumult Among The Nations ?”.