The Triple Assault on Sovereignty: Economic Strangulation, Border Conflicts, and Digital Colonialism

The Facts: Three Crises Unfolding Across the Global South

Recent developments across Iran, the Thailand-Cambodia border, and India reveal disturbing patterns of external pressure and internal challenges facing nations of the global south. In Iran, the national currency has collapsed to its lowest value in history, with the rial nearing 1,250,000 to the US dollar—a catastrophic decline from approximately 55,000 rials per dollar in 2018 before the imposition of devastating US sanctions. This economic freefall has been exacerbated by recent government policies that have further pressured markets, with ordinary Iranians forced to navigate increasingly desperate economic conditions. The World Bank predicts a deepening recession with economic contraction of 1.7% in 2025 and 2.8% in 2026, alongside inflation soaring to 48.6% in October. Meanwhile, planned fuel price increases for high-usage drivers in December threaten to push already struggling citizens further into hardship.

Simultaneously, long-simmering tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have erupted into renewed military conflict along their disputed border. Both nations accuse each other of initiating hostilities, with Thailand conducting air strikes on Cambodian military sites—a direct challenge to the ceasefire negotiated by then-US President Donald Trump in July. The conflict has forced thousands of civilians to flee to shelters, continuing a pattern of displacement that began during earlier clashes. The military imbalance is stark: Thailand’s armed forces number approximately 245,000 with a defense budget four times larger than Cambodia’s 75,000 troops. This dispute traces back over a century to colonial-era border demarcations under French rule, particularly regarding the Preah Vihear temple awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962 but still surrounded by contested territory.

In India, a proposed surveillance initiative has raised alarm bells among human rights organizations. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to require constant satellite location tracking on phones, allegedly to help telecom companies provide more precise location data for individuals under investigation. Major technology companies including Apple, Google, and Samsung have opposed this measure due to privacy and security concerns. Amnesty International has expressed serious concerns that such surveillance could reveal sensitive personal and professional connections, endangering human rights defenders and creating what critics describe as “digital ankle monitors” for citizens.

Contextualizing the Assaults: Patterns of Imperial Pressure

These three seemingly disparate crises actually represent interconnected facets of the ongoing struggle for sovereignty in the global south. Iran’s economic collapse cannot be understood outside the context of brutal US-led sanctions designed to cripple the nation’s economy and force political compliance. The Thailand-Cambodia border conflict demonstrates how colonial-era cartography continues to breed violence and instability long after the colonizers have departed. India’s surveillance proposal reflects the dangerous convergence of technological capability and authoritarian governance tendencies that threaten fundamental rights.

What unites these situations is the shadow of external pressure and internal compromise. Western powers, particularly the United States, have perfected the art of economic warfare through sanctions regimes that disproportionately harm ordinary citizens while claiming to target governments. The colonial legacy of arbitrary border-drawing continues to haunt post-colonial nations, creating perpetual flashpoints that drain resources and distract from development. The push for mass surveillance represents a new frontier in control mechanisms, where technology enables unprecedented monitoring of populations under the guise of security.

Opinion: Resisting Economic Terrorism and Digital Colonialism

The devastating collapse of Iran’s currency represents economic terrorism masquerading as foreign policy. For decades, the United States has weaponized the dollar’s dominance to punish nations that refuse to conform to Western dictates. The suffering of ordinary Iranians—facing hyperinflation, recession, and skyrocketing prices—is not an unfortunate side effect but rather the intended consequence of these sanctions. This brutal economic warfare exposes the hypocrisy of a international system that preaches free markets while systematically dismantling the economic sovereignty of nations that challenge Western hegemony.

The Thailand-Cambodia border conflict illustrates how colonial powers planted seeds of discord that continue to bear bitter fruit generations later. The arbitrary borders drawn by French colonial administrators have become permanent sources of tension, draining military resources and costing lives in two developing nations that should be focusing on economic development and regional cooperation. Rather than addressing these colonial-era injustices, Western powers often position themselves as mediators—conveniently forgetting their role in creating these disputes while maintaining influence through “peacekeeping” interventions.

India’s proposed surveillance state represents a deeply troubling departure from its tradition of democracy and civil liberties. For a nation that proudly claims civilizational heritage dating back millennia, embracing digital colonialism through mass monitoring would represent a profound betrayal of its own people. The fact that major technology companies—hardly paragons of privacy protection themselves—are opposing this measure speaks volumes about its extremism. This surveillance initiative must be understood within the broader context of global power dynamics, where technology becomes another tool for control and where the global south risks importing the worst aspects of Western security states rather than developing indigenous models that respect human dignity.

The Path Forward: Reclaiming Sovereignty in a Multipolar World

These three crises demonstrate the urgent need for nations of the global south to assert their sovereignty against multiple forms of pressure—economic, territorial, and digital. Iran’s experience shows the critical importance of developing alternative financial systems independent of dollar dominance. The Thailand-Cambodia conflict underscores the necessity of resolving colonial-era disputes through regional cooperation rather than external mediation. India’s surveillance debate highlights the vital importance of establishing digital sovereignty frameworks that protect citizens rather than monitor them.

The common thread is resistance to hegemonic control—whether through economic sanctions, colonial borders, or digital surveillance. Nations must develop independent economic systems, resolve historical disputes through South-South cooperation, and establish technology governance models that serve their people rather than external interests. The emerging multipolar world offers opportunities for new alliances and systems that reject Western dominance while embracing genuine cooperation and mutual respect.

Ultimately, these crises reveal both the challenges and opportunities facing the global south. The old systems of control—economic coercion, territorial disputes, and digital monitoring—are being challenged as never before. The path forward requires courage, solidarity, and visionary leadership that prioritizes human dignity over geopolitical gamesmanship. Only through such committed resistance can nations truly achieve the sovereignty their people deserve.