What IR means to me

IR means the world to me.. how the world interacts and why certain things happen in the world.  It explains many economic and political decisions from a broad perspective that affect us daily.  It also allows us to understand issues on the micro level: why do some leaders act the way they do? Why can’t we stop poverty? Increase health?  IR is a basic answer to the accomplishments and problems of the relationships between societies, states, and individuals.

Al-qaeda and International Financial Institutions

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) expanded its mission to include combating the financing of terrorism and adopted eight special recommendations on terrorist financing which have been recognized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as the appropriate international standard. FAFT also developed the FAFT 40 Recommendations for dealing with money laundering and terrorist financing. The World Bank and the IMF have established a collaborative framework with the FATF for conducting comprehensive AML/CFT assessments of countries’ compliance with the FATF Recommendations.

An ends-based analysis of 9/11

9/11 which was planned and carried out by members of al-Qaeda was a consequentialist, or ends-based action rather than a rule-based action. According to Osama bin Laden, the attacks were meant to threaten US security and to harm the US economically, benefitting the Muslim/Arab world, which he believed was being oppressed by the United States. Al-Qaeda was not concerned with the morality of killing thousands of innocent civilians. They were only morally concerned with the consequences of their actions - the harm it would cause to the US, and therefore the supposed benefit it would bring to Arabs and Muslims in places like Palestine and Lebanon where the US interferred with their liberty. In some ways, Osama bin Laden and his cohorts did acheive there goal. The American Stock Exchange closed from September 11-17, this was the longest closure since the Great Depression in 1929. US stocks lost $1.2 trillion in value for the week. The security of Americans has also been greatly threatened which is evident in the extreme tightening of airport security and regulations. Although al-Qaeda influenced the US as they had intended, the beneficial impact on the Arab/Muslim world is debatable to say the least.

al-Qaeda and ethics

It is well known that there are Rules of Engagement and War.  However, not all fighters follow these rules.  Are they immoral? Unethical?  Maybe.  In the case of al-Qaeda, almost everybody sees their “freedom fighters” as unethical and immoral because of their ruthless attacks on civilians and the hate against the West.   Such actions don’t follow ethical standards of the world but instead are extreme views.  They rationalize their actions by pointing out that the West kills innocent civilians and allows the killing of innocent people themselves, mostly by pointing out Israel’s continued bombing of Palestinian civilians.   Do we criticize our soldiers or Israel for killing innocent civilians?  One of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations strongest points, however, is the wrongful teaching of religion, in which terrorists claim God has given them the right to defend themselves against infidels.  This causes people to have a moral obligation to God to defend their religion which in turn makes it ethical to commit crimes against humanity.

Here is a clip of bin Laden pointing out the US and Europe to not having followed rules of war by bombing and killing innocent women and children. 

Al-Qaeda and the role of the State

Al-qaeda is an organization that acts among and within states, but it does not have a state of its own which means that it cannot be easily targeted. There are two countries that are known to have harbored Osama Bin Laden and his organization, Sudan and Afghanistan. The Taliban was an Islamic fundamentalist movement which ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Al-qaeda was not invited by the Taliban to move into Afghanistan, but over time their relationship grew to the point where the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, chose to protect Bin Laden in Afghanistan. The Taliban however was not recognized internationally as a legitimate government in Afghanistan which means that al-qaeda was not protected by a state. Because al-qaeda is not a state, the United States, in its attempt to destroy the organization, threatens or attacks states, like Iraq, that appear to be supporting it.

“The International System and al-Qaida”

The issue of al-Qaida and it’s involvement in the international system is an open debate.  It goes back to the theoretical interpretations of the system, with differing views within those theories.  Some liberalists would view the early al-Qaida as being a substate actor that influenced politics in Afghanistan.  Others can’t understand why al-Qaida doesn’t have a common interest like the rest of the democratic world.  Most all liberals can’t understand why al-Qaida won’t change its politics.  Realists would see al-Qaida as another proof of an anarchic world and the need to counter al-Qaida’s rise to power with power.  al-Qaida can’t gain weapons of mass destruction as that would be a threat to freedom across the world.  In contrast, al-Qaida seeks its own “national” interests, the spread of Islam.  Leaders of al-Qaida think that Arabs are dominant and have the power to change America due to their holdings of oil.  The West sees this as a threat and pursues its own interests in securing supply of oil.  al-Qaida sees the West as exploiting the resources given to the Arab world and that Arabs should protect these resources at all means.  The international system is mostly based on social norms which change over time.  However, some actors in the system, like al-Qaida, don’t conform to these norms which causes problems that don’t get resolved until change occurs on the individual level.

Al-Qaeda and International Relations policy

The terrorist organization al-Qaeda was founded in 1988 partly as a result of the rise of Islamism, and the Soviet-Afghan and Gulf Wars during which the U.S. implemented its power and influence throughout the Middle East. Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization that uses suicide bombing as a means of attacking its enemies.  Liberals may have trouble analyzing al-Qaeda because they believe that human nature is good and that international groups can cooperate to maintain peace.  Al-Qaeda has no interest in cooperating or negotiating with the United States or the rest of the Western world. It is also hard to argue that human nature is good when studying this terrorist organization because it targets innocent civilians. Realism is also somewhat incompatible with the study of al-Qaeda because it only recognizes states as actors in international relations. Because radicalism focuses on class, capitalism and the international economy, it does not relate directly to the main ideologies behind al-Qaeda which focus on Islam as a political system and the encroachment of secular, Western ideology. The international theory that seems to best encompass al-Qaeda is constructivism because it asserts the importance of identity in international relations. Al-Qaeda’s religious, Muslim identity essentially defines it, and identity also defines the organizations enemies.

Semester project

We will be taking a closer look at al-Qaida.  We will look at how the group was formed, why it was formed, the changes, including goals and perspectives, it experienced over the years and why.  Also, we will try to answer questions like how bin Laden became the world’s most wanted person and how he has been able to evade law enforcement among other things.

effects of international relations

how we effect
international relations and vice versa:
-voting
-buying domestic vs imported or vice versa
-staying informed and questioning authority
-outsourcing
-tax and other economic components

the event that divided my life

The event that split my life into two eras was when I switched schools in 6th grade. It marks the point in my life in which I actually began to enjoy learning. I have never regretted my decision to switch schools and it is thus far one of the best decisions that I have ever made.