History Is Repeating Itself—and the World Is Paying the Price

Date: 4 January 2026

A blog by Khaled Noor, barrister and activist

History does not merely inform the present; it repeats itself. From the seventeenth to the late eighteenth century, European powers carved up much of the world through colonisation. England dominated North America until 1783, France controlled Canada and surrounding regions, and Portugal ruled Brazil until its independence in 1822. While formal colonial rule eventually collapsed, the underlying logic of domination never disappeared.

Today, global power remains concentrated in the hands of a few states—the United States, France, China, the United Kingdom, and Russia. These nations shape international outcomes through veto power at the United Nations, military intervention, economic pressure, and political coercion. The rhetoric has changed, but the objective remains familiar: control, influence, and access to strategic resources such as oil, gas, uranium, and rare minerals.

History offers countless reminders of the dangers of unchecked power. Russia endured invasions by Napoleon and Nazi Germany; Japan’s imperial ambitions devastated much of Asia and the Pacific. Meanwhile, European empires colonised Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia with lasting consequences that continue to shape global inequality.

In the modern era, the United States has increasingly acted as a unilateral power, often paralysing international institutions and bypassing global norms. The methods once used by European colonial powers—forced regime change, military intervention, and economic coercion—are now repackaged under the banners of security, democracy, or stability. Yet the outcomes are strikingly similar: weakened states, prolonged conflicts, and deepened global injustice.

Recent events underscore this reality. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Saudi-led war in Yemen, Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories, and persistent interference in sovereign nations reveal a world order governed more by power than by law.

History is repeating itself—but in a more fragmented, volatile, and dangerous form. If left unchecked, this erosion of international norms threatens not only global stability but also the very foundations of the modern, civilised world.

Khaled Noor, 4 January 2026, London

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