In Gaza, the world has seen the cost of a diplomacy that claims to uphold a rules-based order but applies it selectively. The United States intervened late, and only to defend an occupation the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled illegal. Alongside other Western nations that built multilateral institutions, the US increasingly pursues nationalist agendas that undermine them. The hypocrisy is stark: one set of rules for Ukraine, another for Gaza.

This erosion of credibility marks the structural collapse of unipolar authority, symbolised by the US’s absence from the Group of 20 (G20) in South Africa this past week.

As thousands gather in Qatar over the coming days for this year’s Doha Forum under the theme “Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress”, the failure to prevent genocide demands a reckoning. The imposed ceasefire in Gaza has delivered neither political resolution nor safety for Palestinians. Meanwhile, the future of Gaza continues to be discussed without Palestinians in the room.

This is not an unusual scene. Since the Cold War, international diplomacy has operated on what might be called the master-key model, where one powerful actor unlocks a conflict through political leverage, economic pressure, or conditional aid. Around it grew an entire ecosystem: humanitarian organisations, think tanks, mediators, and consulting firms, often funded by Western states, reinforcing the belief that a call to Washington could solve any crisis.

The ceasefire in Gaza shows that the master key can still turn the lock. The US exerted its influence, and the........

© Al Jazeera