Various leaders provoke deaths, directly or indirectly, and have failed to provide their citizens with the stability necessary for their development. In many cases, these deaths are the result of decisions that prioritize personal, ideological, or strategic interests over human life; in such situations, we are confronted with a form of governance that warrants deep criticism.

Although political contexts vary, from authoritarian regimes to democracies with institutional tensions, it is possible to identify recurring patterns in leaders and systems that generate significant harm to people. Contemporary examples include figures and regimes such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, as well as governments in Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, or Afghanistan under Taliban control, among many others.

All of them are different, with varying levels of responsibility, political systems, and contexts, yet they share certain common traits that are harmful to humanity:

• Primacy of power over human well-being: To varying degrees, these leaderships have pursued policies that have entailed high human costs, whether through armed conflict, internal repression, or economic decisions with strong social impact.
• Demand for loyalty and exclusion of dissent: Power tends to be concentrated within narrow circles, marginalizing or punishing those who challenge authority.
• Weakening of institutional checks and balances: Whether through direct control (in autocracies) or gradual erosion (in democracies), mechanisms that limit power are reduced.
• Restrictions on information and education: From direct censorship to indirect pressure on media, universities, or access to information, society’s critical capacity is constrained.

 These phenomena are not new. However, the current context introduces unprecedented tools. The internet, social media, and artificial intelligence provide citizens with an unprecedented capacity to inform themselves, organize, and demand accountability. These tools are double-edged, as they can be used both for and against humanity. So far, their use has largely been partisan, that is, aimed at defending the interests of those in power, while their potential to serve the political interests of humanity as a whole remains underutilized.

In this context, institutions such as the United Nations could play a relevant role, not as an absolute global authority, but as a platform to disseminate the principles enshrined in its founding Charter and in subsequent international agreements, which are essential for preserving peace, cooperation, and the progress of humanity.

The challenge lies in strengthening a global culture of informed and critically minded citizenship, in which:

• people clearly understand the principles that govern coexistence and progress,
• societies can identify abuses of power,
• and there is public pressure, both national and international, to demand accountability.

 Abuses of power are unlikely to disappear, but their legitimacy may become increasingly difficult to sustain in an interconnected world. The key lies in recognizing patterns of risk and developing collective tools to limit them, with the support of institutions such as the United Nations, which, for their part, urgently need to adapt to today’s reality.

If we want to limit abuses of power, we need to act.

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