(First draft: Please
send your comments to: aakazemi@hotmail.com)
Spread
of Radicalism and Decline of “Nation-Sate”
Ali
Asghar Kazemi*
January
5, 2015
________________
Keywords: Radicalism, Extremism;
Terrorism, Nation-State, Middle-East.
Abstract: The main arguments in this
short paper are threefold:
1)
The spread of radicalism
is causing the gradual decline of the “nation-State” and this in turn paves the
way for the rise of terrorism which in the long-run will end up to total extinction
of the notion of modern state;
2)
Democratic powerful states cannot counter this
dangerous development with sole military means, unless they choose the same
tactics and tools used by terrorists groups, which is in contradiction with
accepted civilized norms and ideals;
3)
Authoritarian states
seem to be better equipped to contain this momentum; but they too may be caught
in a whirlpool trap created by terrorist that may imperil their own existence.
Introduction
Ever since the birth of the
“Nation-State”
in the Congress of Westphalia in 1648 until the collapse of the Soviet Empire
in 1991, while the world had experienced major wars and conflicts, the overall
structure and the concept of “state” were more or less accepted by world
Nations.There is a difference between
these concepts. A
nation-state differs from a "state" or a "nation" for a
couple of important reasons:
A nation refers
only to a socio-cultural entity, a union of people sharing who can identify
culturally and linguistically. This concept does not necessarily consider
formal political unions.
A state on the
other hand refers to a legal/political entity that is comprised of the
following: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) a government;
and d) the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
The quasi peaceful
disintegration of the Soviet Union ushered the doors for similar demands in multi-ethnic regions where various
ethnicities were forced to form a conglomeration of an assorted people
dissimilar in cultures, sects, languages, religions etc. This would usually
happen after each great armed conflict and the conclusions of wars.
Such is the case of Arab
nations of the Middle East and North Africa and ethnic minorities of the Balkan
Peninsula that are the products of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
In other part of the world the colonial powers had to recognize rights to
self-determination for territories under their dominion.
During the Cold War,
leftist movements of varying origins were more or less the only destabilizing
forces that threatened the existence of “nation states.”But the West and
capitalist front were alert of the danger of communist threats and did all in
their capacity to contain their expansion. Perhaps the collapse of the Soviet
Union was the result of such awareness. At this very moment the Russian
Federation is formed of a number of nations some of which are in pursuit of
their autonomy or independence.
The end of Cold War encouraged
ethnic groups here and there to claim autonomy or independence in areas where
minorities had coexisted in peaceful relations for centuries. Spread of
radicalism has started where the central government opposed to such demands and
in some cases used force to contain the turmoil. The case of Kurds in Turkey,
Iraq, Syria and Iran is a lucid example of such demands.
Stability of the “nation-state” depends on a
numbers of attributes such as: rule of law, democracy, justice, equitable
distribution of resources, sustainable development etc. without which the state
becomes susceptible to fall into disarray. In such condition the nation becomes
a fertile land for propagation of all kinds of evils and diseases. Radicalism
and terrorism like virus and microbes quickly disseminate all over a region
even a continent.
Changing
Perception of Threat
Until September 11, 2001 the
West and particularly the United States of America had no clear notion of the
threats posed by radical Islamists not only to few states they belong to but to the whole modern
civilization on earth. The collapse of the twin towers in New York City was a
horrible shock to the entire world after which the perception of national
security and threat were radically changed in the minds of strategists and
defense planners.
American military interventions
in Afghanistan and later in Iraq and Libya resulted to the collapse of these
more or less established though dictatorial nation-states. That was the
beginning of a series of radical changes, and turmoil in the Middle East region
and North Africa that resulted to the collapse of incumbent regimes
After the fall of Taliban in
Afghanistan we have seen the spread of Al-Qaeda in the region. The defeated
Iraq was a fertile swamp to attract elements of Al-Qaeda which quickly
recruited the unhappy Baathist pro-Saddam to organize a rather viable force
against American coalition and inflicted serious damage to them. Soon after,
the crisis erupted in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Yemen where terrorist
groups ventured to seize the opportunity to deploy to those lands.
Syria escaped this
transformation because of foreign interference that to this time has prevented
the collapse of the regime. However, this country fell in a decisive civil war
that until now has claimed several hundreds of dead and injured and millions of
refugees.
The continuation of the Syrian
crisis, especially because of the backing of Russia and Iran on the one hand,
and American support of the opposition groups on the other, rendered this
country helpless against terrorists who occupy certain Syrian regions and
annexed them to some Iraqi provinces to declare an independent state.( The
Islamic Sate of Iraq and Syria ISIS)
Extremism
Gaining Momentum
Among militant radical
movements, the most violent who have been targeting the West and American
interests in the past three decades, are Islamist fundamentalists. These groups,
who have been rather dormant in the past century, revived after the Islamic
revolution in Iran around 1979. Militant Islam has now operational bases in
Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the Palestinian
territories, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia,
Nigeria, and Pakistan, to name just a few countries.
Islamic
extremism refers to two related and partially overlapping but also distinct
aspects of extremist interpretations and pursuits of Islamic ideology:
-an extremely conservative view of Islam, which
doesn't necessarily entail violence even though it may have an emphasis on Jihad.
-the use of extreme tactics such as bombing and
assassinations for achieving perceived Islamic goals.
Recent terrorist attack in
Pakistan that left more than hundred innocent pupil dead and many more injured
is a vivid indication that radicalism is dangerously gaining momentum in a
state with nuclear capability. Indeed the world should be alarmed of this
critical development. It is almost unthinkable what would happen if terrorists
put their evil hands on Pakistan nuclear arsenal.
Islamist extremist groups have been
spreading in almost all corners of the world . In the African continent thousands of members of Nigeria’s
home-grown
Boko Haram
radical Islamist group set out kidnapping women and children and selling them
as slaves on the market. Farther north, Boko
Haram employing recruits from neighboring Chad are instigating Islamic
uprising in the region.
Islamic terrorism consists of
terror attacks by Islamic fundamentalists to further a perceived Islamic
religious or political cause. It has occurred globally, in practically every
continent, including in Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, South and
South-east Asia, South America, The Caucasus, The Pacific and North America.
Terrorist organizations have been known to engage in tactics including suicide
attacks, bombings, spree killings, hijackings, kidnappings, and beheadings.
The roots of militant Islam run
deep and may take many years to eradicate. Accordingly, the West must prepare
itself for future confrontations. More importantly, Americans should realize
that the war they are actually engaged in the Middle East against the ISIS is
not really leading to anywhere. They must understand that this is not a war on
terrorism, since, terrorism is only a tactic, a way of achieving sublime
objectives of a faith. This struggle is against a radical, utopian ideology and
those who carry out violence in its name.
Beside illegal terrorist groups
and insurgents, there are a number of extremist entities that under the guise
of regular “state” commit or promote act of terror. An example of this kind may
be the defunct Libyan Ghaddafi who for a period of time tried to destabilize
certain regions in the Middle East and North Africa.
Democratic states, no matter
how powerful, are inherently incapable to effectively fight radicalism since to
do so they have to choose the same instruments of terror which is against their
claimed ideals. They may use authoritarian states to achieve this objective but
this option too has its own weakness. They may risk compromising the overall
security and survival of vulnerable states that are susceptible to disintegrate
totally.
The
Fate of the “Nation-State”
The more weaken became the
pillars of the traditional “nation-states” the more instability resulted and
the larger became the spread of Islamic radicalism in the world. Amid these
turmoil we witnessed the birth of the most radical and savage groups like the
self-claimed “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS)
that later changed to “Islamic Caliphate” that seeks its origin in past
centuries Islam.
Now the world is facing an
unprecedented threat from radical groups who for sake of simplicity we call
them “terrorists.” These people, who commit daily crimes and unprecedented
atrocities, come from around the world of a variety of ethnic and religious
backgrounds among which Western Christians and non-believers are most active.
Some of them appear to be criminal by nature for whom fighting and killing is a
sort of mental pleasure.
It is most plausible that
terrorist elements coming from Europe and elsewhere in the world to fight in
Syria and Iraq will sooner or later go back to their homeland and with the
experience they gained could pose a serious danger to the stability and
security of states of their origin.
The spread of terrorism is an
alarming threat to the peace and order of the international system. The
world in general and vulnerable regions such as the Middle East should urgently
guard against the consequences of this dangerous development before it is too
late. The fate of the “Nation-State” depends on the proper management of this
impending crisis and its wider implications./
*Ali Asghar Kazemi is
professor of Law and International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political
Science, Science & Research Branch- Islamic Azad University Tehran-Iran.
The terms nation,
state, country and nation-state are used to refer to political,
economic, social and cultural actors in the international system. The modern
nation-state refers to a single or multiple nationalities joined together in a
formal political union. The nation-state determines an official language(s), a
system of law, manages a currency system, uses a bureaucracy to order elements
of society, and fosters loyalties to abstract entities like "Canada,"
"the United States," and so on. Cf,
: http://www.towson.edu/polsci/ppp/sp97/realism/whatisns.htm
The informal term
"Soviet Empire" is used by critics of the Soviet Union and
Russian nationalists to refer to that country's perceived imperialist foreign
policy during the Cold War. The nations said to be part of the "Soviet
Empire" were officially independent countries with separate governments
that set their own policies to some extent, but those policies had to remain
within certain limits decided by the Soviet Union and enforced by threat of
intervention by Warsaw Pact (Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968, Poland 1980).
Countries in this situation are often called satellite states.Some scholars
hold that the Soviet Union was a hybrid entity containing elements common to
both multinational empires and nation states., Maoists argued that the
Soviet Union had itself become an imperialist power while maintaining a
socialist façade. Cf. .wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Empire
The Cold War
(1947–1991) was a state of political and military tension after World War II
between powers in the Western Bloc (the United States, its NATO allies and
others) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies in the
Warsaw Pact).Cf. wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War
Russia comprises 21 republics (states) which
enjoy a high degree of autonomy on most issues and which correspond to some of
Russia's numerous ethnic minorities. The Russian Federation is home to as many
as 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples, although the majority
(81 percent) are ethnic Russians. Russia
has from 10 to 20 million Muslims, constituting the largest religious minority. See: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Russian_Federation
See: Jonathan Schanzer, “ At War With
Whom?
A short history of radical Islam” In Middle
East Forum Spring 2002.
Terrorism in Pakistan
has become a major and highly destructive phenomenon in recent years. The
annual death toll from terrorist attacks has risen from 164 in 2003 to 3318 in
2009, with a total of 35,000 Pakistanis killed between September 11, 2001 and
May 2011. According to the government of Pakistan, the direct and
indirect economic costs of terrorism from 2000–2010 total $68 billion.
See: - Hassan Abbas. Pakistan's Drift
Into Extremism: Allah, The Army, And America's War On Terror, M.E. Sharpe,
2004 - Tariq Ali. Can Pakistan Survive? The
Death of a State, Penguin Books Ltd, 1983
Boko Haram
("Western education is forbidden"), officially called Jama'atu
Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Prophet's
Teachings for Propagation and Jihad), is a militant Islamist movement based in
northeast Nigeria. The group was designated by the United States as a terrorist
organization in November 2013. Membership has been estimated to number between
a few hundred and a few thousand. Boko Haram killed more than 5,000 civilians
between July 2009 and June 2014, including at least 2,000 in the first half of
2014, in attacks occurring mainly in northeast, north central and central states
of Nigeria. Corruption in the security services and human rights abuses
committed by them have hampered efforts to counter the unrest. Since 2009 Boko
Haram have abducted more than 500 women and children, including the kidnapping
of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014. Nearly 650,000 people had fled
the conflict zone by August 2014, an increase of 200,000 since May.
See:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram#cite_note-news_24-11
. Belgium has been put
on edge over potential Islamist terrorist attacks for the second time in four
months amid reports that a man and woman who had returned from the war in Syria
via Turkey were plotting an assault on the European Union's main offices in
Brussels. With governments across Europe increasingly preoccupied by the risks
arising from the return of nationals who have joined gone to Syria and Iraq to
join Islamic State (Isis), concern is particularly high in Belgium.
Four-hundred Belgians are said to have travelled to Syria to join the
extremists, usually via Turkey and its long, porous border into the war zone.
While that figure is much lower than the estimates for Britain, France or
Germany, proportionately and in per capita terms Belgium is believed to have
the highest number in Europe of would-be jihadists travelling to Syria. See : http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/21/couple-returning-belgium-syria-plotted-assault-eu-berlaymont-building-brussels.
* Ali Asghar Kazemi is professor of Law and International Relations in Tehran-Iran. Students, researchers, academic institutions, media or any party interested in using all or parts of this article are welcomed to do so with the condition of giving full attribution to the author, Scholar -Journal and the Middle East Academic Forum. ©All Copy Rights Reserved.
