When the virus became a general, the port a trench, the stock markets a battlefield, the dollar a cannon, and cryptocurrency a rifle, humanity realized it didn’t need a new nuclear bomb to discover that wars had changed. It was enough for a factory in Wuhan to shut down, a shipment to be delayed in a strait, or a financial transfer to be frozen in a central bank for war to begin. There was no need for the screams of bombs—the silence of malfunctions was a weapon, market volatility was a weapon, and the chaos of supply chains, switching between halt and operation, was a weapon. The new general of war doesn’t wear a uniform; he appears in the form of a virus that shuts down the world or a customs tariff that drowns international diplomacy.
This is war—where bullets aren’t fired, but buttons are pressed, deals are frozen, currencies are besieged, and statements and decisions clash.
This is how the Third World War began—without gunfire, without official declarations. Yet it escalated, striking where no flag is raised, but where the rug of economic sovereignty is pulled from beneath nations' feet.
Prologue: The Roots of War in the Depths of Economic History
No observer of pre-1914 history can overlook how the world rested on the gold standard, governed by European ports, with Britain, France, and Germany controlling 80% of global trade and coal dominating 90% of energy. But this power was built on a fragile core—a rigid façade masking structural vulnerability, where resources were centralized and supply chains bottlenecked in three ports.
From Gold to Blood
World War I shattered the financial system. The gold standard collapsed, banks froze, and trade suffocated as economies turned into war machines. Hunger outpaced bullets, currencies eroded internally, and institutions crumbled without bombardment—leading to the Great Depression.
Between the Wars: No Return to the Old Order
The 1929 New York Stock Exchange crash deepened the collapse, ushering in the Great Depression as confidence vanished, unemployment soared, and crime rates surged. Global trade plummeted by 70%, nationalism spread, and isolationism grew—setting the stage for the deadlier World War II.
World War II: Oil as a Frontline, Wheat as a Time Bomb
The battle was over resources, not just land. Oil in Baku, wheat in Ukraine, and Atlantic ports became strategic targets. Whoever controlled fuel controlled movement; whoever severed supply lines broke the enemy’s will. The war ended with U.S. monetary dominance—writing the new economic rules in ashes and dollars.
From Ashes to the Dollar: Bretton Woods and Dollar Hegemony
International institutions became political tools. America monopolized not just military victory but also financial dominance—built on trust, not real backing—exposing its fragility in moments of shock, whether political, economic, or social.
The Awakening of the Chinese Dragon: Globalization Weaving Strategic Dependence
China rose as the world’s factory, exploiting polar collapses to dominate supply chains. Asian ports became trade arteries, and global reliance on Chinese goods reached dangerous levels—until the world awoke to the risk.
From the Wuhan Factory, General "Corona" Emerged: A Moment of Strategic Exposure
In 2019, the virus unveiled the truth. Products vanished from markets, factories stalled, oil prices crashed—this wasn’t just a pandemic but a silent declaration of war. Supply chains trembled, trade faltered, and economic models collapsed as nations faced a question they had never dared ask: Do we truly own our will? Our food, medicine, clothing, and weapons?
The Fourth Confrontation: The Economy Redefined as a Weapon
By 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war exploded food and energy prices, forcing Europe to reshape its dependencies. The world entered full militarization of every commodity—wheat, oil, gas, fertilizers, chemicals, even transport. Major powers began constructing parallel systems for settlements, payments, data, and influence.
The New Arsenal: Financial Blockades, Tariffs, and Dependence
In early 2025, the U.S. launched its first strike in this new war—replacing military invasions with financial sieges. Organizations were shut down, contracts abandoned, funding frozen, and tariffs raised. Supply chains exploded in March as metal prices skyrocketed, markets convulsed, and production lines stalled. The second phase of war had begun—without a single soldier.
The Middle East in the Crossfire: Nations Without Economic Immunity
Egypt, with its geoeconomic advantages—the Suez Canal handling over 12% of global maritime trade, bridging three continents, and overseeing five strategic transit routes—found itself exposed. In a war fought with supply chains, currencies, and food security, true sovereignty lies not in geography but in self-sufficiency. Egypt’s vulnerabilities became glaring:
- Over 60% of Egyptians' food is imported.
- Nearly 80% of medicines and vaccines come from abroad.
- The Egyptian pound lost over 70% of its value in three years.
- Public debt exceeds 80% of GDP, with external debt surpassing $165 billion.
- Inflation neared 40% in some months.
- The trade deficit exceeds $45 billion annually.
This was the result of internal policies—abandoning food, medicine, and industrial sovereignty, squandering wealth, and dismantling productive structures. The export capacity collapsed, debts ballooned, and creditworthiness crumbled. Over a decade, Egypt was systematically hollowed out:
- The productive mind was sidelined in favor of a corrupt elite managing education, health, agriculture, and industry under emergency law.
- Agriculture declined despite resources, turning Egypt from a food exporter to a major wheat, corn, and sugar importer.
- Industry regressed, replaced by contracting and construction, turning the state into a contractor, not a producer.
- Pharmaceuticals relied on imports, with no real manufacturing policy.
- Monetary policy escaped central bank sovereignty, dictated by loan conditions.
- Public spending focused on costly, low-return projects, draining finances without strengthening self-reliance.
Now, Egypt faces World War III with the weakest economic framework—monetary policy no longer national, food reserves insufficient, and industrial capacity hollowed out. Even its military, meant to protect sovereignty, relies on foreign technology and maintenance, lagging behind in modern warfare.
Yet the Moment is Not Lost
The war rages on, but with it comes a call to rebuild—scientifically, economically, politically, and socially. Food sovereignty must start with land, water, and agricultural intellect. Pharmaceutical independence must rely on research, not imports. Industrial revival must restore the economy’s backbone. Minds must be freed, and the military must return to protecting the state—not through slogans but by enabling production, empowering knowledge, and reforming decisions from within.
In wartime, those who don’t control their food, medicine, technology, or monetary policy will not shape the new order. What we face is not a passing crisis but a pivotal moment in global economic restructuring. The next 90 days will be an existential test—determining who can withstand the storm and who will become a testing ground for international decisions.
Looking Ahead
As the world gathers the ashes of the 2025 shock, humanity enters the next 90 days as if crossing a fragile bridge built on inflation, tariffs, and the quiet disintegration of the old order. The U.S. ignited this by striking financial institutions in January, withdrawing from major deals in February, and exploding supply chains with tariffs in March. This was no exception—it was the opening act of a new global era.
Final Words
From the next 90 days to the coming 900, this war will not be an extension of current crises but an open theater for battles on four fronts:
- Food securitybecoming a sovereignty card.
- Financial markets and currenciesretreating in favor of alternative settlement tools bypassing New York.
- Supply chainsfracturing into geopolitically managed blocs.
- Alliancesno longer built on values but on exchanging tools and shifting interests.
Those without a production map won’t have a seat at the table. Those who don’t develop their monetary and technological tools will be managed from afar.
In Summary: The Third World Economic War
It shook global capitals without bombing their soil. Interest rates soared, commodities shrank—without armies marching. Ports, crossings, and passages were lost to algorithms—without military occupation.
In the end:
Those who do not resist politically and economically will not write history.
Those who do not build their project from within will be reshaped from without.
This is a war of sovereignty and leadership… and the people will decide.
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