International relations essay

For a long time, international relations scholars have studied the effects of rebels, terrorists, and warlords on global security. International relations scholars have attempted to explain the causes and repercussions of such societal upheavals, as well as the motivations for funding violence against fellow mankind. The threat presented by insurgents, terrorists, and warlords cannot be underestimated by the international community. However, in the current geopolitical context, the number of security challenges facing many countries has steadily increased. For example, terrorist activities in the Middle East and some parts of Africa have led to the loss of life and the declaration of those places as lacking in the needed security for its people and tourists. Of note is Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in Somalia who have continuously posed a threat to Nigeria, Somalia, and the surrounding countries respectively. On the other hand, the world experienced significant insurgencies during the Arab spring which spawned a series of revolutionary movements in the Arab world in such countries as Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, and Bahrain. In most of those countries, they have not fully recovered from the effects of toppling the existing government. Lastly, specific countries in the world have experienced several instances of warlordism such as in Uganda which was masterminded by the notorious warlord Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The role of this paper is to discuss all aspects of terrorism, insurgency, and warlordism and come up with a clear verdict on which poses the greatest risk.

Numerous studies conducted in the field of international relations indicate that terrorism, insurgency, and warlordism have devastating effects on the economy, social interactions, and security of the affected countries. It is imperative to realize that though each has its impacts on the society, their effects vary due to factors such as funding for their actions, the number of people affected, and the level of destruction left behind. Studies conducted indicate that insurgency affects the citizens of the country that has experienced those revolutionary movements. In most cases and prior to the uprising, such areas are always relatively peaceful, multicultural, and dynamic. However, such a revolution does not only change things inside that country only but can also interrupt international relations throughout the region and in extreme cases the entire world. Nonetheless, scholars have noted that insurgency can only have an impact on international relations through the precipitating conflicts that ensue to other neighboring countries.

In retrospective, the society of warlords in most cases establishes its rituals, institutions, and hierarchies. The dynamics involved in the execution of warlordism makes it either have global significance or only affect the stability of the country on which warlords have set camp and the neighboring countries. Nonetheless, it’s important to note for example Joseph Kony was notorious for committing various atrocities against Ugandan people including killings and deployment of child soldiers to execute those seen as enemies. Though warlordism does not have tremendous implications on international relations, their permanent presence in a country can lead to a dysfunctional government marred by corruption allegations, weakness, and political disunity. It is, therefore, the role of the affected country to obliterate all factors that favor the existence of warlords and include military intervention in cases of an armed confrontation. Warlords for example in Somalia and Afghanistan are concerned with the amalgamation of power in the country and they therefore threaten international security by their disregard for international law.

In sum, terrorism activities are the worst of all of the above activities. In most cases, terrorism activities affect more than one country, and it, therefore, receives international attention. In the recent past, many countries have experienced the vagaries of terrorism. The United States of America, for example, was in the year 2001 attacked in four coordinated attacks by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in what we now refer to as 9/11 attacks. After that incident, the extent of the 9/11 attack provided legitimacy to the American military operations in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The massive scope of the 9/11 attack has placed terrorist activities on the front banner and have shown the willingness of the United States of America to eradicate any forms of terrorist activities on its soil or their allies. Indeed, the USA has utilized its military to intervene in places such as Somalia due to the Al-Shabaab terrorist activities and Iraq. However, in recent years, the United States of America is utilizing the threat of terrorism to impose controversial immigration laws aimed at screening all those people coming from Muslim majority countries.

Further, the world has seen an increase in high military spending and intelligence budgets. The country that leads in such policies is the USA as they argue that terrorist activities are deeply rooted in the political problems of a country, and only political solutions can mitigate by coming up with policies aimed at eradicating terrorism. It is, therefore, evident that due to the multiple attacks that occurred on the USA soil, the foreign policies of different countries are changing due to international terrorism. The countries that help in propagating terrorist activities face economic sanctions and are thus ignored by the UN member countries.

Conclusion

In sum, due to international terrorism communities and societies are severely affected economically, socially, and politically and always end up having many disputes on international relations with the Muslim countries. Many countries foreign policies have changed to protect the citizens of their countries from terrorism and terrorist activities. It is also imperative to realize that such countries spend a significant amount of their budget allocation on defense with people changing their views towards the Muslim communities in their midst. Such a change in worldviews has led to a shift in the religious philosophies and cultures.





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