Testifying from the Ground

The first month of 2026 read like a global stress test. The old world order is crumbling before our eyes, leaving many in distress over what the future might look like. The cascade of events in 2026 clearly highlights the ongoing structural crisis of the global system.

We want to start with what is happening in Northeast Syria—not because it is the most important event, but because the region is very dear to this editorial board. Most of us met because we were all working on the Syrian civil war and following the developments in the Syrian Kurdish region, Rojava. Since 2012, one year after the beginning of the war, Rojava has pursued a new self-governing system based on Democratic Confederalism centered on three pillars: radical democracy, ecology, and women’s liberation. In the past decade, Kurdish forces (YPG and YPJ) have fought and won the military battle against the Islamic State, holding tens of thousands of ISIS members in prisons and camps.

Despite this effort against global jihad, Turkey has attacked and invaded the area multiple times, besieged the city of Kobane, cut water at the source, and bombed civilian infrastructure. In December 2024, the Assad regime fell and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took power. The new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has distanced himself from his jihadi past and quickly won the West’s favor. In the meantime, his forces began attacking minorities. After targeting the Alawite and Druze communities, HTS forces marched toward Northeast Syria with the clear objective of sweeping away the revolution. They regained majority-Arab cities that had previously embraced the revolution, subsequently freeing many ISIS members and their families. After days of war, an ultimate accord was signed on January 30, involving gradual integration and Interior Ministry deployment in Al-Hasakah and Qamishli. Yet, in this accord, there is no mention of women’s rights, nor is the fate of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) clear. What is happening in Syria mirrors the rehabilitation of the Taliban in Afghanistan. After all, the reconstruction of Syria is worth as much as $340 billion—a great deal for many Western countries.

The new year also saw the U.S. abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in an unprecedented military operation. Early on January 3, a formation of helicopters appeared over Caracas, heading toward Miraflores Palace. Dozens of air defense sites were bombed to clear the path. The 13-year president was then flown to New York City to face trial. The Trump administration proceeded without a legal framework; neither the United Nations nor the U.S. Congress authorized the move. The UN Security Council held an emergency session where Russia and China condemned the act as a violation of sovereignty. With Venezuela holding the largest oil reserves in the world, Trump has made no secret of his desire to invite U.S. companies to dominate this new phase.

In Iran, protests that began in December 2025 grew as the country took to the streets to protest the economic collapse. The regime responded by cutting the internet nationwide. While the regime hides behind a communications blackout, death toll estimates range from several thousand to as many as 36,000. Reports suggest forces fired on civilians indiscriminately, leaving hospitals overwhelmed and bodies in black bags in courtyards. At the height of the protests, Donald Trump threatened the regime, assuring protesters he would intervene in the face of human rights violations. He later backtracked, though he began deploying the U.S. Navy to strategic spots for a possible strike.

Meanwhile, diplomatic tension escalated over Greenland. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump claimed enhanced access to the island, suggesting extreme measures for a takeover. This reflects a shift in the U.S. worldview: Europe is no longer a primary ally, and attention has shifted toward the Americas. Domestically, Trump has been heavily criticized over the militarized deployment of ICE. On January 7, in Minneapolis, agents killed Renee Good—a poet and mother of two. A few weeks later, Alex Petti, a nurse, died after being shot multiple times in the back. ICE also arrested a 5-year-old to lure his father into the open. Though both were eventually released, rage has mounted over ICE’s violence and total impunity, sparking marches across the country.

This is only a short summary of the past month, and it does not even include the ongoing invasion of Ukraine or the systematic breaches of the ceasefire in Gaza.

In a world where geopolitics is often discussed in the abstract language of “spheres of influence” and “market stability,” we are choosing to ground our coverage in the visceral reality of those living through the cracks. This month, we step back to let the protagonists of these struggles speak for themselves. Their testimonies are not just accounts of survival; they are a refusal to be the collateral damage of a crumbling order. As the “Old World” falls away, perhaps these are the voices that will finally tell us what comes next.