Absence of leaders: a global crisis

The chaos we are witnessing in the world today can only be attributed to one thing, which is the “absence of real leaders” in the world... leaders with vision and the ability to face major challenges.

This absence is clearly evident in many global crises, whether wars in the Middle East or in Ukraine or conflicts in Asia and Africa, as well as economic and environmental crises.

With what we are witnessing in the Middle East region, it is clear that we have many politicians in the world, but not leaders. In Palestine there is no leadership, Israel lacks a leader, there is no leader in the United States or Europe who can resolve the situation, and there is no unified leadership in the Arab world!

Among the reasons for this worrying absence is that current world leaders are clearly focusing on short-term political and economic gains, such as upcoming elections or maintaining momentary popularity, instead of developing long-term strategies that ensure stability and prosperity in the future. This focus on immediate goals leads to ignoring major challenges such as geopolitical conflicts, global stability, climate change, and others. The long-term vision has become absent!

Another reason is populism and the dominance of narrow interests. The rise of populist movements in several regions of the world has caused an escalation of internal and external divisions. Populist leaders often exploit the feelings of anger and fear among the masses in order to achieve political gains, which leads to deepening crises instead of resolving them. This policy necessarily leads to fueling conflicts instead of promoting dialogue and understanding.

One of the reasons that has recently emerged is the loss of confidence in institutions. We have noticed that many people around the world have lost confidence in their leaders and the institutions that are supposed to represent them, either due to corruption, mismanagement, or the lack of effective response to major challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition, a reason that cannot be ignored is the increase in complex global challenges. The world today faces complex and intertwined challenges, such as climate change, growing economic inequality, health crises, and armed conflicts. All of these challenges require leaders with a comprehensive vision and innovative solutions to deal with them. However, in the absence of these leaders, these crises continue to worsen, especially with the emergence of signs of the disintegration of the global system. The world is dominated by multiple economic, military, and political powers, which makes the global system more complex and disintegrated, which creates leadership vacuums and creates the current global chaos that reflects the absence of real leadership at the global level.

It also seems clear that there is a gap between previous and current leaders, and a change in the starting points for making political and economic decisions that have become more centered on short-term personal or political gains, instead of deep thinking about the long-term interests of peoples. What is more dangerous is the widespread propagation of the far-right and populism and their impact on political decisions.

I believe that true leaders are those who are “ready to make tough decisions at all times and under all circumstances.” Such leaders are now present in the Gulf States and in a very few Arab countries, and they can influence our surroundings. Events in recent years have proven this. However, what appears on the global level is that many leaders avoid making such courageous decisions for fear of losing popular support, losing elections, or facing political opposition. This makes them hesitant to take bold and decisive steps to resolve crises, which leads to the spread of chaos, the extension of conflicts and wars, and the absence of the authority of international law.