Irving Kristol says, “Power breeds responsibility in international affairs, whether domestic or even private. To dodge or disclaim these responsibilities is one form of abuse of power.” History shows abuses of this nature when countries gain power and try to defeat each other in the era of imperialism. John Mearsheimer argues that the anarchic structure of the world is the main force that alters the behavior of states in the globalized world. States first considered their survival before anything else like individual rights, morality, justice, and economic interest. According to realist democracy, the economy has less to do with state behavior, thus neglecting liberalist theories.
In this study, we mainly focus on contemporary conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and Palestine-Israel apartheid, which have global importance and consequences. In both of these conflicts, the world has divided opinion based on their interpretation of self-interest. From history until now, nations have fought war with each other for power and survival, killing millions of people, but the advent of technology has catalyzed the destruction of war. In recent history, humans have witnessed the worst century in terms of humanity, where millions of people lost their lives in both World Wars I and II in 1914 and 1939. Then humans invented another suicidal technology to kill themselves in 1945, which was named the “atomic bomb.” Robert J. Oppenheimer, who is the father of the atomic bomb, considered it blood in his hand and says it would further boost the arm race, and it is not the end but a new start to the Cold War. It was exemplified by many major events, such as the Cuban missile crises of 1963 and others. The era of indirect confrontation between the USA and USSR marked its end in 1991 with the disintegration of the USSR, present-day Russia.
The discussed conflicts were more of a military power than a traditional nature. But contemporary wars are not just about military power but a bunch of other non-traditional approaches, such as media, a modern means of warfare that is used to influence the opinion of enemy targets; perhaps common people are unaware that they are under attack; cyberattacks; and diplomatic strategy at the international level. Let’s take an example of the Israel-Palestine conflict and analyze the western perspective and standing point of the global-South. This conflict is decades old, but recently, the Hamas, a Palestinian resistance fraction, launched an attack on “AL-AQSA FLOOD” on October 7, 2023, as a reaction to the tyranny, massacre, and coercion of Palestine over the past seven decades. Now, what the western media is propagating is completely an opposite version of actual reality. They are arguing that the killings of Palestinians are due to Hamas; secondly, they say it is an act of self-defense; and thirdly, they say Hamas has killed beheaded children in its brutal attack. So, they are trying to justify their genocidal acts, which have killed 33,000 innocent people, including most children and women. Western governments and their strong network of media are behind this conspiracy. President Biden has fully announced his support for such an unhuman act by Israel, and they have recently provided 23 billion dollars to Israel. On the other hand, rivals of the USA Russian president Putin in his visit to Middle- East announced to play a role of mediator and called the act of Israel as Nazi Germany’s siege of Leningrad, in World-War two. China has recently stated in an official statement that the resistance of Palestine is according to international law and Israel must respect international law. So, every power is playing his cards based on their benefit.
Another major conflict is the Russian-Ukraine war, which started with the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, leading to ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. A question arises: why did Russia decide to attack Ukraine? The answer lies in historic context and recent development. The Russian stand is that which is stated by President Putin in his statement: “I hoped that no one crossed our red line if, in each case, we were the ones who decided the red line.” Russians have made it clear on various occasions that if you come to our doorstep through the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe, then it would be mandatory for us to respond for our national security. So did the western countries, and all are paying the price for it. The Western mindset is that they consider it a violation of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty and thus support it by providing billions of dollars in money for acquiring ammunition, tanks, and other war equipment. The concept of politics in this context is moving around historical context, geopolitics, and media narrative.
In conclusion, every country and block are striving for their interests, whatever they may be. Modern war fare is very complex; it is such a danger that a person under attack is unaware of it. It’s not just about military power but also media warfare, advanced technology, and diplomacy to gain more support for their actions. The West is quite sophisticated in these means of warfare, and he has successfully used his strength to legalize his actions in various world conflicts, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and others that are mentioned above. In the end, truth always reveals that, as of now, in the genocidal acts of Israel, western youth are turning against their governments fascist policies.
The writer is a student of “BSIR” at “International Islamic University Islamabad” and a member of PYDIR.