THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTH: FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING AND RESOLVING POLITICAL CONFLICT IN VENEZUELA

Abstract

This article was aimed at examining the political conflict in Venezuela through the framework of the Four Noble Truths and analyzing the said crisis as a state-level structural issue. It was argued that the conflict over the past decade was not merely a failure of economic policy or leadership errors, but a structural crisis involving authoritarian centralization, the subversion of checks and balances, and the erosion of political institutions to the point where human dignity and fundamental justice could no longer be sustained. Although contemporary political science approaches to peacebuilding often emphasize negotiation and relational adjustment, a normative ethical framework for the systematic analysis of state-level structural suffering was found to be lacking.

The documentary and philosophical-structural analyses were employed in this study to interpret Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha, and Magga as analytical categories for diagnosing institutional failure, identifying systemic causes, defining goals for political transition, and designing non-violent reform pathways. It was revealed by the findings that the Venezuelan crisis reflected "structural suffering" (Dukkha), characterized by the state’s inability to guarantee the rights, freedoms, and quality of life of its citizens. Meanwhile, the "origin of suffering" (Samudaya) was manifested in the form of power centralization, the institutional loss of independence, and unsustainable political-economic policies. Consequently, "cessation" (Nirodra) was defined not as a temporary suspension of conflict, but as an institutional transition to restore state legitimacy, while the "path" (Magga) served as an ethical and policy framework for non-violent reform based on transparency, accountability, and respect for human rights.

Theoretically, the Four Noble Truths were elevated from individual-level virtues to a state-level structural conflict analysis framework. An "Ethico-Structural Transition" model was proposed to integrate Buddhist ethics with political institutional analysis, providing a new normative and analytical proposition for understanding and resolving political crises sustainably.