A Clash of Systems

In the Winter 2004-05 issue of Parameters, Philip Seib makes a laudable effort to establish the imperative for journalists, policymakers, and the American public to undertake a more sophisticated analysis of how the world works. (1) This is critical because the analytical framework adopted by the media and policymakers has a direct effect on how they approach news coverage and frame discussions regarding the threat posed by radical Islamist extremists. This in turn directly affects public opinion in the United States and the world, which in the context of a war of ideas is directly related to the success or failure of both sides. Professor Seib also pointed out the fact that the of theory espoused by Samuel Huntington has been widely criticized, and this article rejects it as an appropriate analytical framework. Our purpose is to provide an alternative framework that portrays the current global conflict as a clash of systems, not civilizations. The central danger of accepting Huntington's model as a basis for analysis is that it is the chosen model of radical Islamists, who in turn use it to mobilize support. If a clash of civilizations is accepted in the West--or worse, accepted by the populations in Muslim states--then the forces attempting to overturn the global system could eventually succeed. Success, however, is not battalions of extremist Islamists marching down Pennsylvania Avenue; rather, it is the replacement of apostate regimes with an Islamic Caliphate, which can occur only once the current US-led global system is destroyed. Therefore, it is imperative that the wider global war on terror focus on the systemic implications of the struggle, which provides a credible methodology to address and mitigate the root causes that fuel the ideology of extremist Islamism. Many authors have identified the imminent threat posed to the United States by radical Islamists in the ongoing Global War on Terrorism, and a number of them have described it as a war of ideas. What is lacking in the ongoing discourse, however, is a conceptual framework necessary for an in-depth analysis of the basic conflict. The current threat environment is based on a clash of systems between the US-led global system, in which the phenomenon of globalization has created unprecedented connectivity and prosperity in the developed world, and those who oppose this system and wish to replace it with another paradigm. The ideology seeking to overthrow the global system is extremist Islamism. (2) It is put into action by transnational Islamist terrorists as well as regional and indigenous extremists, who wish to replace the secular, US-led global system with an Islamist world order. States along the periphery of the US-led system, where Western liberal democratic ideology and values underlying globalization directly clash with radical Islamism, constitute the main battleground. This is where the primary objective of US national power should be aimed: at convincing the undecided multitudes that becoming part of the global system is a better option than fighting against it. In order to prevent states and populations in this periphery from accepting integration into the global system, radical Islamists attempt to frame the ongoing conflict as a clash of civilizations. Clash of Systems Framework The first part of this framework is to establish that there is an international system made up of states and non-state actors. Though there is no world government, rules that guide interactions among these actors on the world stage do exist. (3) These are formed either by consensus (norms of international law and commerce) or are imposed by a major power such as the United Kingdom in the 19th century and the United States in the 20th. (4) This system includes not only norms of interaction, international law, and treaties, but also institutions. The most important aspects of the post-World War II world system are the West's multinational organizations

Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Law · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

• The ‘Art’ of Colonisation

  Tim Di Muzio•New Political Economy•2007

  Incluir item

• Radical Islam

  Emmanuel Sivan•Radical Islam•1990

  Incluir item

• After Hegemony

  Robert O Keohane•After Hegemony•2005

  Incluir item

• Cooperation under Anarchy

  Kenneth A Oye•Cooperation under Anarchy•1986

  Incluir item

• Anarchy is What States Make of it

  Alexander Wendt•International Theory•1995

  Incluir item

• Radical Islam

  Daniel Pipes, Daniel Pıpes et al.•The American Historical Review•1986

  Incluir item

• What is Political Islam

  Charles Hirschkind•Middle East Report•1997

  Incluir item

• The News Media and the “Clash of Civilizations”

  Philip Seib•The US Army War College Quarterly…•2004

  Incluir item

• War without End

  Dilip Hiro•War Without End•2014

  Incluir item

• The holy war tradition in Islam

  Open Access•Emmanuel Sivan•Orbis•1998

  Incluir item

• Six Days of War

  Eliot A Cohen, Michael B Oren•Foreign Affairs•2002

  Incluir item

• Anarchy is what states make of it

  Open Access•Alexander Wendt•International Organization•1992

  Incluir item

• The limits of hegemonic stability theory

  Open Access•Duncan Snidal•International Organization•1985

  Incluir item

• The Myth of Post-Cold War Chaos

  G John Ikenberry•Foreign Affairs•1996

  Incluir item

• The World Revolution of Westernization

  Daniel R Headrick, Theodore H Von Laue•African Studies Review•1988

  Incluir item