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.