By Dhanuka Dickwella

“ What’s good for the goose is good for the gander ”

In a universe where the West dictated the agenda for the world, when they decided who are the bad guys and who are the good ones when they preached what are morals and what are not, when they lectured the virtues of humanity, the rest of the world had only one choice. Bow down, nod your head, and agree. Those who dared to think of alternatives, and speak against that system were simply isolated, called rogue regimes and in some cases were bombed to oblivion. When the West was living its hay days of being the judge, jury, and prosecution no one dared to question their moral authority. They had institutions, INGOS, experts, panels, and committees to advise and help the global south nations to become more civilized, and democratic and try to follow their path to a just world.

Then suddenly things started to look a little murky. When they started to use peace funds to purchase weapons, when they single-handedly confiscated the properties of other nations, when they demanded loyalty from the whole world irrespective of historical contexts, when they stood by heinous actions of their compatriots when they approved collective punishment as the way for justice when they condemned the call for peace as an atrocious crime, the world had it. Today the West looks like a criminal who robs banks and simultaneously sits on the bank’s board. Such is the collapse of the Western moral high ground. The practice was always double standards but now it has reached despicable levels. By reaching the lowest point of humanity the West alone has made the world a deadly dangerous minefield.

Today the global south is more than convinced of a few truths. The International Court of Justice is meant to punish and prosecute only the nations of the Global South. The United Nations is as strong as a scarecrow on a wheat field. Human rights organizations are nothing more than tools to intermediate the non-western nations. What’s considered criminal conduct, and violations of human rights in the Global South are not applicable for the Global North. This whole system is rigged to advance the Western agenda and hegemony. The Liberal international order is a scam to subjugate the smaller nations of the south. Rules-based system is a fraud that is designed to serve the rule makers’ complicity. Simply the west-led current global order is based on one simple principle. “ What is good for the Goose is in no way good for the Gander “.

There seems to be no leader in the West the rest of the world can trust due to their inability to lead by example. This void will only strengthen the hands of Russia, China, and other Eastern powers who are adamant about shaking the world order. Gaza was the tinderbox that started to unravel deep ugly truths about Western conduct. War in Gaza has gone beyond pursuing Hamas. It has now become a battlefield for morality and justice. The war has widened the gulf between the West and the global South to unreachable depths.

In the Ukrainian theater, many nations stood on the fence and observed a sense of neutrality. The common interpretation of Russo-Ukraine was that Russia was the aggressor thus the underdog nation had to be supported. Although that principle was rationally correct, when the West moved to go beyond extending political support, opening the entire armories, advising to prolong war instead of peace, and demanding to hate everything Russian: the global south started to distance itself from the Western agendas.

The war in Gaza is far different. In this war the West stands right behind the state that wages it, giving them one hundred percent moral, political, military, and financial support. The global south nations especially from the Muslim world who refused to take sides in the Russian war have decided to leave the non-aligned status. Some are critical of the Western moral standards and condemn the double standards. Some question why they were treated differently in the past and what authority the human rights bodies and the United Nations have to investigate their conduct. Eroding global support for Israel is inversely proportional to the increased Western support for the Jewish state. That is a very unfortunate situation for the state of Israel at a time when they require global solidarity. The same Global South that sits on a neutral status in one war is clearly biased in another. In the initial days of the atrocious Hamas attack on civilians along with military targets, visible support for Israel could be observed from the Indians as well as other nations that have complicated internal situations with their Muslim populations. Some voices were loud and strongly backed Tel Aviv. But the tide has since changed. Each news article of a bombed school, hospital, bakery, or civilian target and the dead silence observed by the West in each such situation is driving the pro-Israeli voices of the global south to silence zones. Vociferous Western backing of collective punishment, ignorance of the violations of the rules of war, and identifying every pro-Palestine gathering as anti-semitic actions are making things difficult even for those neutral voices to guard their neutrality by day.

This unfortunate carnage has to cease. The West is the only force that is also party to the conflict that can persuade Israel to change course. The Global South could become the adult in the room and lead the Muslim world along with other nations to support a long-lasting solution. Islamophobia as well as antisemitism will be things that need to be brought to public discourse. Measures to avoid either one of them becoming mainstream will become a global responsibility. For any of that to become a reality, the West has to come clean of its complicity, stop continuing double standards, and most importantly practice a clear policy where what is good for Goose becomes good for Gander too.