Yasser Arman, a prominent Sudanese politician and leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Revolutionary Democratic Current (SPLM-RDC), presents a stark warning: the struggle for a just and sustainable peace in Sudan is no longer a local or regional affair. It is now inextricably linked to the contours of a nascent global order, whose emerging features—marked by raw power politics and the sidelining of democratic ideals—threaten to dictate the fate of vulnerable nations. Arman argues that the international discourse has decisively shifted from principles of democracy, human rights, and sovereignty to a transactional focus on geopolitics, mineral wealth, and narrow national interests, leaving countries like Sudan exposed to the ambitions of regional powers who seek to “determine the future of others by force of arms.”
Arman’s analysis, framed in an opinion piece reflecting on recent events in Venezuela, posits that Sudan’s sovereignty and unity are under unprecedented threat. This peril is shared across Africa and the Global South, where internal conflicts are increasingly fuelled and instrumentalized by foreign actors. The case of Venezuela, he suggests, is not an isolated incident but a template for how great power rivalries and the erosion of international law are playing out, with direct implications for conflict zones worldwide.
The Cyclical Nature of Power: From Ancient Empires to Modern Realpolitik
Arman provides a sweeping historical context, tracing the immutable role of power in every world order from antiquity to the present. He references figures like Pharaoh Taharqa, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great to illustrate that domination has always been a foundational principle. The Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid’s remark to a cloud—”wherever you rain, your tribute will come to me”—serves as a potent metaphor for imperial reach and extraction.
However, Arman crucially notes that the past three centuries witnessed a hard-fought correction: the “valiant resistance of peoples” succeeded in tethering the global system to a degree of ethics. This struggle led to the end of direct colonialism, the development of international law, and the enshrinement of principles like sovereignty, self-determination, and equitable exchange. The current shift, therefore, represents a dangerous regression. We are witnessing, he asserts, the return of an “old world order, devoid of everything except power,” one that “crushes the weak” and solves great power problems “at the expense of the poor,” operating on the brutal axiom that “might makes right.”
A Call for Unity: The Lesson of the “Stray Sheep”
Arman uses the Venezuelan crisis as a rallying point, urging solidarity against both internal tyranny and external aggression. He emphasizes the inherent right of all peoples to self-determination, a principle now under global assault. For Sudan, this external volatility makes internal unity not just desirable but existential. He invokes a powerful Sudanese proverb: “the wolf will devour the stray sheep.” In a landscape where regional and international forces are poised to exploit division, fragmentation within the pro-democracy and peace movements is a fatal vulnerability. His call is for cohesive, collective action based on the invincible will of the Sudanese people, as the only counterweight to overwhelming geopolitical pressures.
The Legal Precedent: Why Maduro’s Detention Matters for Sudan
The article concludes by highlighting a parallel statement from the Sudanese Group for the Defence of Rights and Freedoms regarding the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This is not a tangential issue but a critical case study in the erosion of legal norms. The Group’s demand for a fair, public trial underscores a fundamental point: the procedural weaponization of law is a tool of the new power politics. When indictments are tried in the media and jurisdictions are expanded extraterritorially based on power rather than precedent, it sets a dangerous standard. For nations like Sudan, where leaders and factions could easily become targets of similar legal-political campaigns by more powerful states, the Maduro case establishes a worrying blueprint. The violation of “the basic principles of international law” in one context weakens them for all, leaving conflict-ridden states with even less protection from arbitrary external intervention.
This analysis reframes Sudan’s crisis from a domestic or African conflict to a frontline in a global struggle between a rules-based order and a might-based order. Arman’s warning is clear: in this new era, peace cannot be won through local negotiations alone; it must be secured against the backdrop of a world where power is once again becoming its own justification.