Once upon a time, in the golden age of the Himyarite Kingdom (circa 110 BCE – 525 CE) in Southern Arabia — where the sands of Yemen still whisper tales of lost civilisations, a queen questioned her king’s cruelty. “Why do you rule with such iron and pain?” she asked. The king replied, “Starve your dog and he’ll follow you. Feed him and he’ll bite you.” His words became a curse. Starvation didn’t bring loyalty. It brought rebellion. The king was overthrown by his own kin. His doctrine died with him — or so we thought.
Today, that cruel way of thinking has found a modern echo. US President Donald Trump has embraced a worldview eerily reminiscent of the ancient king’s thinking. Trump’s foreign policy and the strategic outlook behind his executive decisions relies on a shortsighted calculation: If you starve nations economically, they will crawl to you on their knees, ready to surrender their sovereignty, dignity and resources in exchange for basic survival. The world has seen this playbook before, in the form of sanctions, trade wars and the weaponisation of international financial systems. But in Trump’s hands, it has become something even more cynical: a doctrine of coercive collapse.
This strategy has been tested across continents. In Iran, Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign crippled the economy, sending inflation soaring past 40 per cent, slashing oil exports by 90 per cent and crashing the rial. But instead of compliance, most Iranians are rallying proudly around the leaders in defence of their homeland. Iran recalibrated, strengthening ties with China, Russia and the BRICS+ alliance, and accelerating its nuclear programme. The same pattern unfolded in Venezuela, where sanctions helped trigger one of the worst economic collapses in South American history. More than seven million people fled and the humanitarian toll was staggering. And yet, Nicolás Maduro remained in power, his regime defiant, bolstered by new economic agreements with fellow sanctioned states and a pivot towards resource nationalism.
But nowhere has the starvation doctrine been as brutal, or as tellingly ineffective, as in Palestine. Since October 2023, the illegal Israeli Occupation’s siege on Gaza, with unwavering US support, has been described by UN officials as “a textbook case of genocide.” The goal is simple: use starvation as a weapon to force surrender, to crush resistance, to make dignity unaffordable.
But this policy, too, is unravelling. Far from silencing pro-Palestinian liberation voices, the siege has catalysed a global wave of resistance. South Africa brought a case of genocide against Israel to the International Court of Justice, sparking an avalanche of diplomatic consequences. More than 140 countries now officially recognise the State of Palestine. In Western capitals, mass “Hands Off” protests and growing public pressure are forcing a moral reckoning. The US’s blind endorsement of Israel is eroding its leadership’s domestic and global soft power; a March 2024 Gallup poll showed a majority of Democrats now oppose military aid to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. In Europe, political parties in Ireland, Spain, and even Germany are pushing to halt arms sales and reassess alliances.
Even economically, the siege is backfiring. The Occupation’s tourism sector has collapsed, losing more than 75 per cent of expected revenue. Moody’s downgraded Israel’s credit rating in February 2024, citing high wartime risk and investor anxiety. The Red Sea trade route, once vital to global commerce, has become volatile due to Ansar Allah operations from Yemen, costing the region billions.
History is full of examples that undermine the Starved Dog Doctrine. Cuba has withstood decades of embargoes, surviving and even thriving in cultural and scientific resilience. Vietnam was bombed to the Stone Age but still emerged victorious and now enjoys global economic partnerships. Iraq, despite being pulverised by sanctions and war, never surrendered its soul. Again and again, the idea that starvation and deprivation can lead to submission has proven false.
In our present moment, something deeper is shifting. The Global South is no longer kneeling. BRICS+ has expanded to include countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran. Africa is increasingly rejecting foreign military presence and demanding equity in trade. Latin American nations are nationalising lithium and challenging the IMF’s structural strangleholds. The multipolar world is not just a theory, it is unfolding in real time.
Trump’s doctrine may bark loudly, but the world is no longer starved. It is resisting with sharpened dignity. The age of coercion, built on the fallacy that people will give up everything when deprived of bread, is crumbling. What’s rising instead is a world that chooses sovereignty over submission, equity over exploitation and dignity over dependence.
Let Trump try to starve the world into silence. But as the ancient king learned, eventually, the people bite back.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
