Things you may not know about global power

Author: Aayam

Introduction: The Game of Control

In today's world Power is not always about armies or bombs.

It’s also about money, systems, and influence.

Every country believes it’s independent — making its own choices, shaping its own economy. But behind this surface, there’s an invisible web made of financial institutions, global corporations, and media networks — all connected through one powerful language: money.

This is how global power truly operates — not through invasion, but through influence.

The Dollar: The World’s Financial Handcuff

If you think of the global economy as a body, the U.S. dollar is its bloodstream.

Almost 80% of global trade is conducted in dollars. That means if any country wants to buy or sell — whether it’s oil, steel, or even medicine — the payment must flow through U.S.-controlled banking systems.

The SWIFT system, which connects more than 11,000 financial institutions worldwide, acts as the global gatekeeper of these transactions.

So, when the U.S. or its allies remove a country from SWIFT, it’s like cutting off oxygen.

Real-world scenario

In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe banned several Russian banks from SWIFT. This move froze billions of dollars in assets and paralysed Russia’s global trade overnight — all without firing a single bullet.

That’s how financial warfare looks: silent but destructive.

The Debt Trap

When a country needs money for development — roads, schools, electricity — it often turns to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) or the World Bank.

At first glance, it seems like help. But these loans come with fine print — called “conditionalities.”

• Borrowers must follow strict economic policies:

• Cut government spending

• Privatize industries

• Open markets for foreign corporations

In other words, you don’t just borrow money — you borrow control.

Example:

A 2023 study published on pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov found that countries under IMF programs often see poverty rise instead of fall.

Why? Because austerity measures (cutting subsidies, jobs, or welfare) hurt local populations while ensuring debt repayment to global creditors.

Economist John Perkins famously called this “economic colonization” — using loans, not armies, to conquer nations.

Corporate Empires: Bigger Than Countries

Some multinational companies today have more financial power than entire nations.

For example, Apple’s market value is higher than the GDP of over 150 countries.

These corporations aren’t just selling products — they’re shaping global policy.

They fund political campaigns, influence trade laws, and pressure weaker governments to bend regulations for profit.

More precisely In many African nations, large mining or oil companies have special tax exemptions and political backing that locals never get.

In return, these corporations fund election campaigns or lobby for policies that keep them dominant.

Media Control

Control over information is the most sophisticated form of power.

The global narrative — who’s good, who’s bad, what’s true, what’s “fake” — is largely built by a handful of corporations that own major news networks, social platforms, and entertainment channels.

As Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman argued in Manufacturing Consent, the media often operates like a “propaganda machine” — filtering news through five powerful lenses: ownership, advertising, sourcing, flak, and ideology.

Real-World Impact

During global conflicts, Western media often promotes a uniform narrative — one that justifies economic sanctions or interventions while protecting corporate or political interests behind them.

When the story is controlled, the world’s opinion is controlled.

and when you control opinion, you don’t need to control people — they’ll control themselves.

Thinking is one of the best ability we human have.

The Cycle of Dependency

Combine the dollar’s dominance, debt traps, corporate empires, and media control — and you get a self-sustaining loop:

1. Poor nations borrow money →

2. They accept strict conditions →

3. They open markets to foreign influence →

4. Their media and policy slowly align with those same powers →

5. And they borrow again to fix what those conditions broke.

That’s how financial control becomes a never-ending cycle — a modern version of colonialism wrapped in elegant economic language.

But the world isn’t sleeping.

Countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa (the BRICS group) are challenging this order.

They’re creating:

• New payment systems to avoid SWIFT

• The New Development Bank to replace the IMF model

• Trade in local currencies instead of dollars

Scholars note this shift is accelerating. In fact, a 2025 arxiv.org report shows how nations are building alternative financial networks precisely to escape Western sanctions and control.

The world is slowly becoming multipolar — no longer ruled by one system, one currency, or one ideology.

Conclusion: The Awareness

Today’s wars are fought not on battlefields but in banks, stock exchanges, and digital systems.

Countries don’t need to be invaded when their money, media, and minds can be managed from afar.

But there’s hope — and it begins with awareness.

When people understand how financial power works, they start asking questions, demanding transparency, and creating alternatives.

That’s how real freedom begins — not with rebellion, but with realisation.

Because once you see the system, you’re no longer trapped inside it.