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The Arab-israeli Conflict And United States Geo-strategic And Economic Interests In The Middle-east
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Conflict is an inescapable phenomenon of human life both at the interpersonal or international level.1 The prevalence of conflict, its management and prevention are therefore critical areas of international relations. Conflict comes in varied forms. They could be interstate, arising from perennial disagreements between States; intra-state civil conflicts which may come in varying degrees such as inter-ethnic conflicts; religious conflicts induced by ecclesiastical rivalries; conflict due to ideological incompatibilities amongst others. Some notable crises in human history includes those between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, the Croats and Serbs in former Yugoslavia, the African National Congress and the Apartheid regime in South Africa, Rwandan crisis between the Hutus and Tutsis; the Biafran Separatist Movement in Nigeria, Israeli – Palestinian Conflict which is the focus of this research, to mention a few.
The allusion of the English Philosopher – Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) in his work “Leviathan†to an anarchic state of nature where the dominant individual interest is self-preservation, is an apt description of the international system.2
Extrapolating to the international domain, Hobbessian theorizing is accentuated by the very absence of a hierarchical structure of government in the international arena to check the eccentricity of States whose actions in the guise of national interest replicates a state of nature. This is in contrast with what obtains in the domestic arena where Municipal law is invoked in case of an infraction. Hobbessian prescriptions that, “power be centrally and absolutely controlled, that is, a “unitary state†is however inconceivable in the international system.
Scholars of international relations are of the opinion that the Concept of State Sovereignty which is an outcrop of the idealism orchestrated by the Westphalian Settlement, promotes the culture of anarchism in the international system. This is against the backdrop of the “free-wheeling irresponsibility†of Sovereign States. Many writers are of the view that Sovereignty in contemporary international relations is an anachronism, as it is akin to absolutism.
However, the broadening focus of international law which re-conceptualizes the notion of sovereignty, now exerts a restraining influence on Sovereign States by making them answerable in relation to acts bordering on crimes against humanity and international humanitarian law. This has advanced the frontiers of international relations.
Perhaps, before an examination is made into the Arab – Israeli Conflict, it is pertinent to peruse some of the probable causes of conflict and at the same time provide an analytical assessment of the dispute. Conflicts are manifestations of an underlying and sustained disagreement between groups that have not shown enough commitment to lasting peace.
Fundamentally, the perenniality of an un-resolved societal gap or problem could be an incentive for conflict. The roots of the Israeli – Palestinian Conflict which has assumed a broader dimension, that is, the Arab – Israeli Conflict, could be traced primarily to the rivalry between the Jewish Israelis and the Muslim Palestinians over primordial claims to the same territory. It could be encapsulated as “One Land, Two Peoplesâ€.
Some probable causes of conflict among other things are:
Incompatibilities of objectives and actions among interacting groups or policy in the case of states, could be an inducement for conflicts.
Conflicts could arise as a result of a demand for a piece of territory for example, the Iraqi annexation of Kuwait and Saddam Hussein’s intention to subvert the Sovereign prerogatives of the Kuwaiti government which attracted international condemnation and allied response led by the United States to defeat Iraq’s aggression.
Economic hegemony of a particular group over the resources of another could ignite conflicts. For example, the Northern control of the resources of the Niger Delta in Nigeria which led to increased militarization of the region before the Amnesty Programme introduced by the Federal Authorities, which has now doused tensions.
Religious and ideological diversities or incompatibilities which may translate into ecclesiastical claims of superiority of one religion over another, often times have given rise to national rivalries between groups.
Domestic rebellion which attracts international sympathy, for example the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria in recent times, could be a source of international conflict.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 3]
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