International Relations - Iraq Conflict - Essay Example

Topic:  International Relation Critical Essay Introduction As Iraq represented the cradle of civilization to the ancient world, it has representedthe cradle of conflict in the post – Cold war world. For many people born in the peaceful countries of the west or in the troubles states of Near East at the end of the 20th century, Iraq was their formative experience of war in the modern world. Fifteen years after the United Nation Security Council imposed sanctions and containment on Iraq, U.S. forces continued to battle remnants of the former regime and a range of other adversaries inside Iraq. Iraq remains a decisive battle front for both those who support and those who oppose the development of more moderate and globalized Islamic societies. The economy of this oil – rich country had been completely devastated by hyper inflation and debt. In 1990s Iraqis suffered under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and things got tragically worse with the horror of the attacks of September 2011.This gave a wonderful opportunity for America to retaliate against Islam radicals and the target was Iraq. The reason for this was possession of weapon of mass destruction by Iraq which was a military threat to America. The killing and counter killing continued for years. But the root cause of conflict in Iraq can be of various natures and one being religious indifferences. The other main reasons are poverty, ignorance, regression and fanaticism. According to Cordesman (2008,pg 45)“Tension between Sunni and Shiite legislators remained heightened as both sects accused each other of propagating sectarian killings and conflict” Root causes of conflict in Iraq The root causes of conflict in Iraq can be associated with the following: i) Religious differences The conflict in Iraq is not a civil war. It is a sectarian violence, complicated by the region’s wider religious rifts and their intersection with state – supported terrorism networks. This sectarian sources will persist in the country somehow as it is a deep and intense issue. The violence in Iraq is also an example of terrorism. The conflict in Iraq can be contributed to the fight between Sunni insurgency and minor group of Shiite militants and Al – Qaeda terrorists. This sectarian fighting has led to the destruction of holiest mosques of Iraq and bombings in many parts of cities across the country. And Al – Qaeda in Iraq is fuelling the enmity between Sunni and Shies to rage the conflict. As per Northolt(2008,pg 73)“Intra she’s conflict is a significant element in the civil conflict of Iraq” It is the Al – Qaeda which is a byproduct of U.S which is the real cause of all the sectarian conflicts in Iraq. As per Stathis (2007,pg 183-223)“The sectarian conflict between Shea and Sunni militias is not simply the outcome of sectarian cleavages in Iraqi society, but to an important extent, a legacy of U.S. occupation”. A chaotic Iraq could provide a still stronger base of operations for terrorist who seek to act regionally or even globally. Moreover, the neighboring country Iran, which is a Shia based country influence the conflict in Iraq by supporting Shiite group in the country. In his journal, Nasr(2004,pg7-24) writes that “The current sectarian threat in Iraq is therefore more the product of a deeply rooted rivalry in the region than the direct result of recent developments in Iraq” Poverty Poverty can be both a cause and effect of conflict. Iraq was destroyed by America because it was a poor nation. The poor per capita income of people can be directly related to the development of conflict in many regions. According to Rice ( 2006)“Research on several correlates of poverty, especially large youth populations, low levels of education, and natural resource dependence, provides insight into the potential causal pathways through which income per capita impacts conflict risk”. In case of Iran, the UN educated youth who are unemployed are the real manpower of terrorist groups. They employ these young people on cheap labor and provoke them to do killing and other illegal activities. These people are easy target as the money is a big motive for uneducated people. Also when people have low income they turn rebellious against government and get motivated to act violently. A country like Iraq with a poor infrastructure and uneducated population is extremely vulnerable to rebellion. Low income country means poor infrastructure, police and military capacity and political system. This gives a viable ground for insurgents to aggravate conflicts. This is the real situation of Iraq and Muslim radicals with assistance from outside sources built up a strong ground in the country which triggers enormous conlict.More developed infrastructure and political system cannot offer hiding grounds for terrorist. A country like Iraq which has weak system in every aspect gives good hideout for insurgents. Also Iraq has large bulk of illiterate youth ready to do anything for money which gave rise to unending conflicts. Repression The repression of Shiite and Kurds in Iraq is a major reason for conflict in Iraq. During Saddam rule the Sunnis always occupied the higher position in government. Saddam’s regime has suppressed Shia’s considerably, and this gradually led to a revengeful attitude in Shiite people. Moreover, the U.S supported Iraq’s opposition in order to defeat Saddam.The Kurd also has a major role to play in developing conflicts in Iraq. The Kurds, who are Sunni Muslims but are not Arabs, are probably the most pro – US of all major groups. They had a historic fear of persecution by the Arab majority and want to, at the very least, preserve the autonomy. The mass massacre of Kurds by Iraqi regime as also aggravated the conflict in Iraq. As per Ghabra(2009)“Iraq’s ability to crush the Kurdish intifada at the end of the Gulf war amidst hundreds of thousands of refugees highlighted the Kurdish sufferings”. Since the rule of Saddam the rights and freedom of the people have been suppressed. The negative feelings of Iraqi citizens have been bottled up for years and when the right time came people turned violent and oppressive against government and Sunnis. Moreover, the enemy of Iraq, which is Iran, has been continuously assisting the Shiite groups in Iraq to increase radicalism and terrorism. Fanaticism Iraq with its mix of Shia, Arabs, Sunni Arabs and Kurd is far from ethnically homogenous. Moreover, like a number of countries in Middle East, Iraq as a territorial entity was not created by people aspiring to be “Iraqis”, but by British for their own imperial purposes. Although Iraq experimented with a parliamentary system with some success under the Hashemite monarchy from 1921 to 1928, it has since become a fractured, impoverished country, its people susceptible to hysteria and fanaticism. In the 20th century and 21st century the Sunni Islamism has conducted many atrocities in the country. They have massacred Christians, Shia Muslims, Shabaks, and Moderats Sunni Muslims in the name of Allah. According to walker (2011) “However, the Christians, and other smaller minorities, have no militias to protect themselves from the evil of radical Sunni Islam”. The fanatic Sunni Muslims have killed Shia during many events and due to this Shia have developed vengeance and hatred towards them. There is also prevalence of Iraqis who are anti – American fanatics. Fanatics of Iraq are slaves to ideas and thoughts propagated to them my Muslim clerics and religious leaders. In his book Holmes (2004, pg.21) states that “There are mercery fanatics coming from Jordan Syria and Iran who fuel the conflicts”. They get imaginative and develop delusions surrounding religious principles and perform atrocities in the name of God. They are hostages to the false beliefs initiated to them by clerics and radical elements and pay less attention to realties of practical life. Many of these fanatics are also subjected to drug addiction and have no means to think logically .These fanatics join terrorist groups and other insurgents and bring about attacks and violence in the country. Understanding the conflict with international relation theory Liberal theories of international relations emphasize the role of international institutions and economic interdependence in promoting cooperation and political stability. The subject of international relation theory seeks to understand how people are provided, or not provided, with the basic values of security, freedom and, order, justice and welfare. International relation offers many theories as realism, liberalism, social constructivism .However each explore the international relation in its own distinctive way. Realism for example is, focused on the basic value of security, because according to realists war is always a possibility in a system of sovereign states. Liberals, on other hand, argue that international relations can be co –operative and not merely conflictive. International relation is the study of the nature and consequences of international relations which a country holds with another. The state system of every country has advantages and disadvantages on the people living in it. Every state is supposed to hold certain social values that are so fundamental to human well being. States have the potentiality to both protect and threaten the security of its citizens. In case of disadvantaged social system of a country, social dilemmas can occur resulting in violence and conflicts. With regard to the conflict in Iraq, the international theory of realism can be applied to analyze it. The theory of realism Realism emphasizes the constraints on politics imposed by human nature and the absence of international government. Human nature has not changed since the days of classical antiquity. And the nature, according to realists, is at its core egoistic, and thus inalterably inclined towards immorality. As Machiavelli puts in politics, “it must be taken for granted that all men are wicked and that they will always give vent to the malignity that is in their minds when opportunity offers”. Most realists also recognize that men are motivated by other desires than the urge for power and that powers not the only aspect of international relations. However realism gives emphasis on the egoistic passions of the men behind social conflicts and political evils. Realist believes that international anarchy is essential to improve political system in a country. Realism maintains that universal moral principles cannot be applied to the action of states. Among realist of an earlier century, none stands out more prominently than Niccole Machiavelli and he has low opinion on human nature. In his book Jutersonke (2010, pg11 ) mentions that “Realism is aware of the moral significances of political action but refuses to identify the moral aspiration of a particular nation with the moral laws that governs the universe” . The realism in contemporary context assumes state as the central actor in international politics. Realism applied to conflict in Iraq i) National Security The realism theory focuses on national security. This theory believes that, people goes to war or start conflicts in an attempt to achieve security and power. It is when in a political environment where certain groups feel insecure or threatened, then they emerge as radicals and fights against government. The action of the insurgents reflects the power imposed on them by the majority ruling the government. In case of Iraq, we can observe that Shiite group and Kurds are under threat for long time in Iraq. On the invasion by America, they sprouted as radicals and escalated the conflicts to create a major chaos in the country. Even the U.S invasion on Iraq was due to threatening reasons of security. As per Lieberfeld, (2005,pg 12-21)“In realism terms, The U.S. invasion on Iraq could be point to Iraq’s geostrategic location, which impinged on multiple security reasons of the U.S.and to Iraq’s oil resources which it could potentially use against U.S. interests”. ii) Individual Role The realism theory also believes in the individual’s role. Factors at the individual level of analysis are essentially short term or immediate cause of conflict; they are often recognized as merely subsidiary causes of war or rather than primary cause. In this case, a political ruler, President or prime minister has a role to play in creating a conflict in a country. Here the rule of Saddam Hussein has created immense vengeance in the mind of Shiite, Kurds, Arabs and Western powers which has led to major conflicts in the country after his death. As per Head(2011)“Hussein long viewed ethnic Kurds as a long-term threat to Iraqs survival, and the oppression and extermination of the Kurds was one of his administrations highest priorities”. iii) Self interested people The Shiite group in Iraq has burned their bridges Iraqi Sunnis and the Arab world and, out of self interest and Islamic principles. Even the Sunni are fighting for their own motives. The Sunnis have no interest in encouraging Shia rule in Iraq. According to Frey(2008, pg 32)“Common sense is absent among the Sunni and Shia power bloc which cannot overcome competitive self – interest”, The Shiites have been waiting for the Americans to leave in order to launch their attacks in Iraq. There are no shared interests among Shiites and Sunni Muslims in the country. In the same way, Kurds who have their own motives and self interests, rage conflicts against the government in order to destabilize them. iv) Political Motives Iraq is a country with multi groups of insurgents and this had led to a major chaos in the region. In his journal Fischer (2008,pg 25-31) writes that, “The insurgency in Iraq is composed of six groups; Sunni nationalist, former regime loyalists, Sunni/Shiite Iraqi Islamists, outside Islamic extremists, foreign volunteers and criminals”. Loosely and unevenly confederated, these groups have different political motivation and objectives for their participation. Some are seeking to achieve governance, other destruction and rest financial gain. However, in total, all of these insurgents lead to conflict and violence in Iraq. Conclusion There are number of violent groups who are contributing to the conflict in Iraq, motivated by number of different factors ranging from authentic religious beliefs to sheer greed to revenge. As the internal tension in Iraq grew to what some characterized as a civil war, these groups facilitated the growing religious nature of conflict in Iraq in part by appealing to their co – religionist outside Iraq. From the east, weapons and support from Iran came into Iraq, often with the purpose of assisting the Shi’a insurgents with attack against coalition forces. It could be said that religious differences is a main cause of conflict in Iraq. As per Durward(2009,pg 340)“Within Iraq, terrorist organization and local religious leaders alike have encouraged violence and conflict” The invasion of Iraq that resulted in thousands of deaths, both of Iraqis and invading soldiers has produced yet more violence. The political system in Iraq is performed by gun rather than law. The root causes of conflict in Iraq are religious indifferences, poverty, repression, ignorance and fanaticism. Iraq is somewhat unique. According to Diamond(2005, pg 1- 15)“The state collapsed not as a result of a civil war or internal conflict, but as a result of external military action to overthrow it”. When applying realism theory of international relation to the Iraq conflict issue it can be found that power and insecurity is the reason behind conflicts in Iraq. Firstly, effort should be made to establish a brotherhood between all the sectarian groups in Iraq. Then the government should be made strong which can offer security, human rights and freedom to its citizen. Only a happy citizen can built strong and peaceful nation. Bibliography Cordesman, A.H., 2008. Iraq insurgency and road to civil conflict. 1st ed. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group Durward, R, 2009. Religion,Conflict and Military Intervention. 1st ed. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Diamond, L, 2005. Lessons from Iraq. Journal of Democracy, 16/1, 1- 15. Frey, J, 2008. Three Quarter Cadillac . 1st ed. New York: ECKO House publishing Fischer, J, 2006. Democracy at Large. IFES, 2/2, 25 Ghabra, shafeeq. 2009. The Kurds : An Arab perspective. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www1.american.edu/cgp/pdf/ArabKurdPerspective.pdf. [Accessed 20 November 11]. Holmes, E, 2004. Iraq : Providing Hope. 1st ed. Newport: Timberwolf. Head,T. 2011. The War Crimes of Saddam Hussein. [ONLINE] Available at: http://civilliberty.about.com/od/internationalhumanrights/p/saddam_hussein.htm. [Accessed 21 November 11]. Jutersonke, O, 2010. Morgenthau, Law and Realism . 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lieberfeld, D, 2005. THEORIES OF CONFLICT AND THE IRAQ WAR. International Journal of Peace Studies, 10/2, 12-21 Nasr, V, 2004. Regional Implications of Shi‘a Revival in Iraq. The Washington Quarterly, 27/3, 7-24 Northolt, S, 2008. Field of Fire - An atlas of ethnic conflicts. 1st ed. London: Lulu. Rice, S.E. 2006. Poverty and Civil War: What Policymakers Need to Know. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/8191.pdf. [Accessed 20 November 11] Stathis, N.K, 2007. Ethnic Cleavages and Irregular War: Iraq and Vietnam. Politics & Society, 35/2, 183-223 Walker,L.J. 2011. Assyrian Christian in Iraq: Sunni Islamists gouge his eyes out and torture him to death. [ONLINE] Available at: http://global-security-news.com/2011/05/17/assyrian-christian-in-iraq-sunni-islamists-gouge-his-eyes-out-and-torture-him-to-death/. 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