Most of
the world's violent conflicts are directed in the name of religion. More
specially, Islamist groups are held responsible for 7 out of the 11 wars
progressing in the world.
Following the September 11 attacks
on the twin towers in America, the US has become an active participant in
"combating" radical Islamists or fundamentalists.
The reason Islamic movements have
become a vital part of International Relations is not only because they may
affect a country's foreign policy, but also because they have become a
transnational force shaping world order.
Over a
very short period of time, the war on terror has
changed the underpinnings of the post-cold-war geopolitical arena, and they continue to evolve.
Examples
of this can be seen. The Bush administration, which had the support of the people
or much of the international
community to police the oil fields and pipelines in Central Asia, to become
militarily involved in the civil war in Georgia and Uzbekistan, to support
Moscow’s repression of the Chechen rebellion and Israel’s actions in the West
Bank, to support the Philippine government’s conflict with Islamist rebels, to
support the undemocratic Saudi royal family, it has adopted an aggressive
foreign policy toward North Korea and Iran, and, of course, the invasions of
Afghanistan and Iraq have also been justified.
The excuse of
counter-terrorism in establishing authoritarian policies and policies of
intervening other nations is a popular and evidently effective international
law. We may even see breakdown of the United Nations and the international
community due to this. This war may have begun to wind to a close, but its
effects may continue to change the world dramatically.
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