The failed states debate. Iraq as an example

Abstract or Introduction

This essay is about the controversy in the failed states debate in international politics with Iraq as an example. The author argues that anticipated retaliation without the UN mandate is a danger to world peace.

Before the terrorists attack on Washington and New York, experts in International Relations were discussing and analyzing the clash of civilization by Huttington, an American political scientist. According to Huttington, the next conflict that will confront mankind in the 21st century would be a class of civilization. He identified some major civilizations which include the western civilization, the Islamic civilization, the Hindu civilization, the Hispanic civilization, the Japanese civilization, the Jewish civilization and may be an African civilization.

When the incident of September 11 occurred, many people thought that is a confirmation of Huttington’s theory, but Huttington himself refused to regard the attacks as a clash between the western and Islamic civilizations. This very question was put to Gerhard Schroeder and other western leaders and they all refused to consider this event as a clash of cultures. But what I find contradictory is that these same leaders claim that September 11 was not only an attack on America but an attack on the western civilization or the civilized world.

Due to Bush’s new war on terrorism, most authorities on International Relations are focusing now on failed states. According to them, failed states are the greatest threat to the world and have no right to exist. Failed states are states that are unable to provide essential services to their people like security, which they consider the most important factor, social services like hospitals, schools, and even employment. Researchers claim that failed states are the breeding ground of terrorists, and classical examples according to them are Afghanistan, Somalia, DRC, Columbia, Rwanda, Iraq just to name but these. The debate on failed states like that of terrorism is a complex one.

If we want to analyse the debate on failed states critically, we have to look at the source of the recent debate, colonialism, the bipolar world, the US hegemonic power and international security.