In a move that has left the global diplomatic community scrambling, US President Donald Trump has used the World Economic Forum in Davos to launch his own "Board of Peace," a body he claims will succeed where the United Nations has failed.

Flanked by leaders from 19 countries, Trump signed the charter for the new initiative on January 22, pitching it as an "agile alternative" to the paralyzed UN Security Council. The board’s immediate focus? The reconstruction of Gaza. But critics see a different game at play: a calculated diversion designed to sideline established multilateral institutions.

A "Pay-to-Play" Peace?

The launch was pure Trumpian theater. Jared Kushner presented a "Master Plan" for a "New Gaza," complete with artist renderings of gleaming beachfront hotels and residential districts—a vision that seemed jarringly disconnected from the current reality on the ground.

• The Cost: Reports suggest countries were asked to pay $1 billion for permanent membership, leading detractors to label it a "pay-to-play" club for world leaders.
• The Members: The stage featured a motley crew of populist allies and Middle Eastern monarchs, with notable absences from key European powers like France and Germany.
• The Goal: Trump declared the board would work "in conjunction" with the UN, but his rhetoric suggested a desire to create a rival power center that answers only to him.

Diversion or Solution?

For developing nations, particularly in Africa, the "Board of Peace" presents a dilemma. It offers a potential bypass to the gridlocked UN system, but it also threatens to replace the rules-based international order with a transactional, highest-bidder model. As one analyst noted, "It is a good diversion." It shifts the gaze from the failures of diplomacy to the spectacle of construction.

Whether this board becomes a consequential body or remains a Davos vanity project depends on one thing: whether Trump can turn the renderings of "New Gaza" into reality without igniting a new geopolitical firestorm.