“Who made you a Pharaoh, Pharaoh? He said: I found no one to stop me… Selective international deterrence”

By: Warda Sada

This popular proverb sums up a simple and frightening truth: whoever possesses power and finds no one to restrain them will continue their actions without limits, leaving behind immeasurable destruction.

When I think about U.S. foreign policy, this truth appears before me without disguise. Iraq, for me, is not merely a country on the map, but an experience I lived through and followed closely. I was shocked by what happened to it, but I know Iraq was not the beginning. Before Iraq, the United States forcibly intervened in other countries under the pretext of spreading democracy or protecting security, and the results were the same: chaos, the collapse of institutions, and the fragmentation of society.

In Syria and Libya, I saw how interventions turned into tools for destabilization rather than for building democracy. Countries rich in natural resources were constant targets, as if the mere presence of oil made them a project for intervention rather than a sovereign homeland. And today, Venezuela is experiencing the same pressures and interventions, as though history were repeating itself without restraint.

This pattern can be understood through concepts of social transformation: forced change often leads to the collapse of structures, the confusion of values, and difficulty in building stable institutions. Dependency theory and world-systems theory likewise indicate that weaker states remain tied to major powers and dependent on them, even when those powers claim to be spreading freedom and democracy.

Here lies the symbolism: the greater Pharaoh, the United States, does whatever it wishes without international restraint, and the smaller Pharaoh, Israel, follows the same regional logic toward its neighbors, defining interests and employing force for its own benefit, leaving smaller societies under constant pressure. The proverb with which we began remains alive: power without restraint gives rise to tyranny and chaos.

But there is an important comparison: Russia, China, and Iran are not weak states, and yet when they crossed the borders of their neighbors or attacked other countries, the international community found ways to impose effective deterrence through blockades, economic sanctions, and political boycotts. This shows that deterrence exists, but it is selective: it is activated against some states, while absent in the case of the greater or smaller Pharaoh, no matter how extensive and destructive their actions may be.

From here emerges the central lesson: deterrence is not enough if it is only internal or only external; it must be fourfold and applied equally:

• Externally: from the international community, preventing interventions without accountability.

• Internally: from within each society, enabling citizens and institutions to confront authoritarian policies.

• Unified and non-selective: making no distinction between large and small states, between a greater or a lesser Pharaoh.

• Sustainable: so that power becomes a responsibility rather than a threat.

Injustice without restraint grows stronger and leaves long-term effects on people’s lives, societies, and states. The world needs real, comprehensive, and just deterrence to stop injustice before it turns into permanent chaos, whether the Pharaoh is great or small.