Fractured Worlds Over the Last

Fractured Worlds

Over the last five hundred years, Western philosophy has been the main focus of international relations. As, there was an emphasis on a number of different areas to include: human rights, respect for the rule of law and working together on a host of different problems. Once this occurred, it was believed that new order could be established. As, this would provide nations with: unprecedented amounts of stability and cooperation. This is when everyone would see an increase in their standards of living.

However, the last ten years have shown that this kind of philosophy is ineffective. Part of the reason for this, is because it is based upon liberal and neo-liberal approaches. Liberalism is when there is a belief that the state should solve the problems they are dealing with internally and internationally in conjunction with one another. The reason why is because they are interconnected and everyone must work together to deal with these issues. This was the basic philosophy that was used in international relations until the beginning of World War II. While, neo-liberalism is when there is a belief that establishing large international institutions will force nation states to comply with the various standards and rules. These different viewpoints are important, because the combination of them would contribute to the decline in Western philosophy during the early 2000's. As, the West wrestled with: runaway inflation, unpopular wars, skyrocketing budget deficits and crippling recessions. Together, these different elements have meant that many the traditional ideas of this philosophy were continuously brought into question.

In the article that was written by Pasha (2003), he talks about how this transformation is occurring based upon the declining amounts of influence that many Western nations are experiencing. This is because some of these countries have tried to impose their social ideas and culture upon others. The problem with this approach is that many countries have rejected these views. This is because they are trying change their way of life through encouraging them to follow practices that are common in select nations (such as: the separation between the church and state). Yet, in certain regions of the world (i.e. The Middle East) religion has become a part of the national identity for many states by: combining its principals into government policy. Over the course of time, this has led to increased amounts of tension between the West and these nations. This is important, because it is showing me how the West's ideas have failed to address their intended objectives.

In response to these issues, Pasha feels that Islam is embracing similar ideas of Western philosophy to include: tolerance, following the rule of law, respect for the ideas of others and helping to support the community. However, many of these ideas have been high jacked by extremists who are imposing their own stricter version of rules that is based on: hate and following stringent moral guidelines. As a result, Pasha believes that Western ideas have helped to fuel more radical ideologies. The problem is that no single theory is completely accurate and they are all filled with inconsistencies. This means that applying them in the real world can be exercise in futility. These elements are important, because they are illustrating to me how alternate theories are ineffective.