I am writing this text with the Americas and Europe in mind, but the phenomena I analyze apply, with modifications, to other regions of the world. We are on the brink of a new world war, facing imminent ecological collapse, witnessing the end of international law, and the end of the distinction between democracy and autocracy.

Throughout history, the siege of populations has been widely used as a strategy to force the surrender of the political and military forces defending the besieged territories. The fundamental reason for believing in the effectiveness of the siege was the starvation and disease inflicted upon the civilian population.

Boaventura de Sousa Santos has published A Rebellious Dictionary for the 21st Century: Thirty Socio-Spiritual Exercises, a work that sets out to question certainties, challenge conformism and restore our ability to think collectively about the contemporary world.