The Great Displacement: How Western-Created Nation-States Are Failing Humanity
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The Stark Reality of Global Displacement
The numbers are staggering and heartbreaking: over 120 million human beings have been forcibly displaced from their homes in recent years, a figure that has doubled within just a decade. To put this catastrophic human tragedy into perspective, this displaced population exceeds that of more than 220 countries and dependent territories. Only 12 nations on Earth have populations larger than this mass of humanity torn from their roots, their communities, and their sense of belonging.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, one out of every 67 people on our planet is now displaced from their home. The International Rescue Committee reveals the relentless pace of this crisis: more than 20 people are forced to flee every minute of every day. These numbers represent the largest forced migration in human history, yet they don’t even account for the daily oppression that millions—if not billions—endure without the means or opportunity to seek safety elsewhere.
The primary sources of this displacement crisis read like a map of Western geopolitical interference: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen. These are nations that have experienced the devastating consequences of colonial legacy, resource exploitation, proxy wars, and economic imperialism orchestrated by Western powers.
The Structural Violence of the Nation-State System
What this crisis reveals most profoundly is the fundamental failure of the Westphalian nation-state system—a European construct imposed globally through centuries of colonialism. This system has artificially divided humanity into “in” and “out” groups, creating the very categories of “refugee” and “stateless person” that now define this humanitarian catastrophe.
The nation-state system represents the ultimate tool of neo-colonial control, maintaining Western hegemony by dividing the global south into manageable fragments while ensuring the continuous flow of resources and wealth to the Global North. It’s no coincidence that just five countries—Iran, Turkey, Colombia, Germany, and Uganda—host nearly 40% of the world’s refugees, while the wealthiest nations, particularly the United States and Western European powers, implement increasingly restrictive immigration policies.
This disparity exposes the hypocrisy of the so-called “international rules-based order” championed by Western powers. They preach human rights and democracy while building walls, funding border militarization, and supporting regimes that create the very conditions forcing people to flee. The same nations that claim moral superiority are often those most responsible for the conflicts, climate disasters, and economic policies that drive displacement.
World Citizenship: A Radical Alternative
The concept of world citizenship emerges not as some utopian fantasy but as a necessary corrective to the failed nation-state paradigm. As civilizational states like India and China have long understood, human identity transcends artificial political boundaries. Our humanity—our rights and dignity—should not be contingent on the accident of birthplace or the arbitrary lines drawn by colonial powers.
World citizenship would fundamentally transform the power dynamics between rulers and the ruled. National governments could no longer hide behind the veil of sovereignty to oppress their people, knowing that citizens could exercise their right to move and seek better opportunities elsewhere. Leaders would be compelled to genuinely serve their populations rather than exploit them, creating what the article rightly identifies as a “positive competition” to make communities more welcoming and rights-affirming.
This vision aligns perfectly with the civilizational perspective that many Global South nations embrace—one that recognizes our interconnected humanity rather than perpetuating the divisive Westphalian fiction. It represents a direct challenge to the Western-dominated international system that has consistently prioritized state sovereignty over human dignity.
The Path Forward: Rejecting Neo-Colonial Solutions
The sustainable development goals mentioned in the article provide a framework for addressing root causes rather than symptoms, but they must be implemented without the paternalistic conditionalities that Western institutions typically impose. True development cannot occur while the Global South remains shackled by debt, unfair trade agreements, and resource extraction that benefits Western corporations.
We must fundamentally reimagine our global governance structures. The proposed World Court of Human Rights, World Parliament, and Earth Constitution represent not idealistic dreams but practical necessities for managing our interconnected world. These institutions must emerge from the Global South’s leadership rather than being imposed by Western powers that have consistently demonstrated their inability to govern fairly on a global scale.
The current refugee crisis represents the ultimate moral failure of our international system. It demonstrates how Western-created structures continue to perpetuate violence and inequality long after formal colonialism has ended. The solution requires not just humanitarian assistance but fundamental systemic change—a rejection of the nation-state paradigm that serves Western interests at the expense of human dignity.
As we move forward, we must center the voices and experiences of those most affected by displacement. The solutions must come from the Global South, drawing on ancient civilizational wisdom that predates and transcends the Westphalian model. Only by embracing our shared world citizenship can we create a future where no human being is forced to flee their home simply to claim their basic rights and dignity.
The staggering number of 120 million displaced people should serve as a wake-up call to humanity. It’s time to dismantle the oppressive structures that created this crisis and build a world where every person can thrive in their community without fear, oppression, or the need to escape. Our shared humanity demands nothing less.