In the book, Warlords: Strong-Arm Brokers in Weak States, the author, Kimberly Marten, analytically and theoretically examines past and present cases of warlords; looking at their rise to power, their effect on states, their relationship with internal and external state political leaders, and the common themes that stem from each case of warlordism. Throughout this book, Marten studies the impact of warlords through four different case studies, each pertaining to different time periods and regions: Pakistan’s Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA), Georgia’s Upper Kodori and Ajara regions, Russia’s province of Chechnya, and the United States’ support of Sunni warlords in Iraq.
According to Marten, warlords are “individuals who control small pieces of territory using a combination of force and patronage” and that they “rule in defiance of genuine state sovereignty but through the complicity of state leaders” (Marten 3). After a brief overview, she then examines the case of warlords in the Pakistani region of FATA, an area that divides the rest of Pakistan from Afghanistan (Marten 32). This region is prominent for its hostile tribal groups and instability because of its division between Afghanistan and Pakistan (both weak states on a global scale) (Marten 36). These tribal leaders were given their power to be warlords by the Pakistani state, to govern and maintain stability in an otherwise “ungovernable” region (Marten 16-17). The idea behind this case is the trade-off between a false sense of short-term stability and long-term development of this region. State officials gave these warlords protection and leeway in return for security along the vulnerable border. Although stability is evident in this region by allowing warlords...
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...s shown and as Downes argues, regime changes can bring states back to their initial phase and potentially lead to worse circumstances and more vulnerability for that state. Thus, I have to concur with Downes and conclude that regime changes, even if it means maintaining warlord power, is far too risky of a task for a state to take on. In conclusion, a state cannot allow for a warlord to gain power no matter how dire of a situation a state is in, otherwise they face a future of political instability in those regions.
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Revolutionary state formation entails the process of intense and violent struggle between an indigenous population and a colonial power, or between factions or sub-state entities leading to the establishment of one or more states (Maoz). The duration of the struggle and violence is typically short in duration and a result of the pressures felt from both domestic and international pressures. At the beginning of the formation of a new state of regime, acceptance is not guaranteed into the club of nations. The relevance of this fact is that the newly established regime needs to have solid grounds for validation and self-autonomy, without it is left unstable and liable to be brought down by old neighboring states. During the period of instability following the formation of a new regime, there is the additional internal threat which means that those who were in power before will be looking for the first opportunity to return to the status qou (Maoz). An additional aspect of the revolutionary state fo...
Power at its most abusive divides and conquers forever. England in 1893 creates the “Durand Line,” an arbitrary 1500-mile border between ‘British’ India and Afghanistan that makes permanent Britain’s previous territorial gains and lays claim to the Northwest Frontier Provinces, long considered part of Afghanistan. Without consulting the Afghan government, a 1907 Anglo-Russian convention made the boundary “‘permanent’.” The taking of these provinces divided th...
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The art of war has been a vital aspect of state-making throughout history. Max Weber contends in his essay, Politics as a Vocation, that the State is a “human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory” (Weber, 77), a definition that political experts cite to this day. However, many scholars today believe that we have created a new type of warfare, one that questions the validity of the statehood of current international powers as well as Weber’s own precedent for identifying States.
The Syrian Civil War is a good example of world leaders playing by the rules of realism. The civil war began in March of 2011 as part of the Arab Spring, and by July of 2012 17,000 have died and another 170,000 fled the country (Almond). The United Nations Security Council in February of 2012 had tried t...
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Political uprisings in the Middle East, especially in Muslim nation states have placed Arabian politics back on the focus point of international politics. Political events in certain Arab countries had an excessive impact on the political development of other neighboring states. Resistances and anxieties within different Arab countries triggered unpredictable actions, sometimes sorely to observe and believe. The authoritarian governments of Arabian countries led from various dictators have created a precarious situation for their people, especially in providing national security and maintaining peace in the region. Jack Goldstone argues that the degree of a sultan’s weakness has been often only visible in retrospect; due in part to the nature of the military-security complex common across Middle East states (Goldstone 1). In addition, the existence of various statesmen with political affiliation is concerned in faithfulness of its armed forces. Usually, the armed national forces of several states, mainly those in Arab countries are loyal and closely affiliated to their leaders, which have a major role in state regimes. Arab uprisings in their early spreading appeared legally responsible and with concrete demands from representatives’ peoples, calling for a more open democratic system and reasonable governance. Even though, the system in which popular frustration with government imposes alters considerably from one state to another. These public revolts against different authoritative governments didn’t halt just in Arab states, but they sustained also in the Far East and in the Eastern Europe. Can we say that the popular uprisings in Arab countries could be attributed to the term of globalization? In fact, globalization is a multi...
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Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest of the country out of fear of the mutinous army that was out of control looting and killing.
dictator into power, the US is making the people in these countries suffer and go through very
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