As the spread of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continues, calls are now coming for the West to work with those it has specifically gone out of its way to make enemies with over recent months and years. In order to understand why, we need to examine how the international system actually works.
States, particularly from when viewed from a realist perspective, can be said to be the most powerful actors in the international system. This is due to fact that there is no, overarching, coercive and binding authority higher than that of a state, which might be the case if there were a world government. This organizing principle is called international anarchy. States therefore have an interest in their own self-preservation, and the preservation of other states, to ensure that the case for their legitimacy and existence remains.
ISIS represents a non-state actor within the international system. While it claims to govern and control vast territories across the Middle East, a lack of recognition from nation states, the most powerful international actors, leaves their claims severely wanting. As stated above, it is in the interest of states to preserve the existence of both themselves and others, to maintain claims to legitimacy. A non-state actor such as ISIS, which is encroaching upon and invading the territory of internationally recognized nation states, is a direct threat to the legitimacy of the states system. In order to counter such a threat, it falls to those who stand to lose the most to fight back; and in this case that is all nation states. So, we enter into a scenario where any nation state is a potential ally. But, the problem is that the West has framed the states in the region, along with other potential friends, as enemies not allies.
This post was published at 21st Century Wire on OCTOBER 7, 2014.
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