CRITICAL ANALYSIS: THE IMPACT OF VIOLENT NON-STATE ACTORS ON WORLD PEACE

 

INTRODUCTION

The world is so much diverse that different ethnic groups and religious groups and movements are inter-connected to each other in different ways. Actions of such a group in one state are monitored by the similar groups in other states. These groups and movement belong to the international system of non-state actors.

The state, which is the primary actor in international affairs, is being challenged by variety of relatively newcomers to the international arena, the non-state actors. They are primarily multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations, and super-empowered individuals. These non-state actors are transforming international relations.

Non-state actors are entities with no sovereign status and they exercise significant economic, political, or social power and influence at a national, and in some cases international, level. There is no consensus on the members of this category, and according to other definitions trade unions, community organizations, religious institutions, ethnic groupings, and universities in addition to the players outlined above are included.

Furthermore, among the non-state actors there are terrorists and international criminals and those non-criminal non-state actors as mentioned above. The non-state actors which may cause grave damage to the world peace are those who violate national and international laws. And they are labeled as violent (involving physical activities which forces to hurt and kill innocence people and damage people’s property with no just cause) and armed non-state actors.

These armed non-state actors involved in the internal armed conflicts mostly act in the cause to achieve some political agenda, which ultimately harms the innocent people. When innocent people are harmed and the state does not take any actions against those who commit the international crime thus, result being the international community’s reaction to solve the situation in that particular state. 

According to the topic, the impact of violent non-state actors on the world peace can be critically analyzed using some recent examples of violent non-state actors. In this era these actors are armed and violent. To explain this phenomenon, the example of the Nigerian armed separatist movement, Boko Haram and other violent non-state actors will be critically analyzed. Any armed group including government forces and other armed non-state actors are biding to International Law, International Humanitarian Law and the International Human Rights Law. And those who violate these laws will have an impact on world peace. As these laws are made to maintain peace.

WHY THE BOKO HARAM MOVEMENT STARTED AND IS IT AN ARMED NON-STATE ACTOR?

First and foremost, it is important to know about the Boko Haram. According to an article wrote in BBC website on 20^th May 2014, Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society, which includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education. This presumes a serious concern to the whole Islamic Nation of the world, where these kinds of actions are totally different ideologies even in the real practices of the religion. Islam never teaches to violate human rights, but the Bokko Haram is already violating. This concludes that Boko Haram had started against the so called western culture.

The Boko Haram is an armed non-state actor. According to the Geneva Call (2013) the term armed non-State actors (ANSAs) includes a variety of entities and the Geneva Call focuses on organized armed entities involved in internal armed conflicts that are primarily motivated by political goals, operate outside State control and therefore lack the legal capacity to become party to relevant international treaties.

Boko Haram is also an anarchist movement that has created lawlessness within the Nigerian state.

RELATING THE CONTEXT OF ANARCHY TO BOKO HARAM

Next question is why could not Nigerian Government contain this group? When a country is in a state of anarchy there is no control over its laws and regulations (lawlessness), the people starts to divide and starts movements against the government. As the Boko Haram is saying that it will change the government by force. When the Boko Haram says there should be no voting or wearing shirts and trousers and so on, they are simply going against the world order. This can be one reason that Boko Haram movement is having an impact on world peace.

As per Neumann and Waever (1997) “anarchy is reproduced when each state seeks to protect itself against the threats posed by other states”. Here the other states can be armed non-state actors. The Nigerian government has lost control of a minority group named as the Boko Haram. Initially it started as a political movement and later escalated to an armed group.

Furthermore, Neumann and Waever (1997) describes what Wendt (1987: 360) said: “social structures are the results of the intended and unintended consequences of unman action, just as those actions presuppose or are mediated by an irreducible structural context”. They have also mentioned about international politics “with each country constrained to take care of itself, no one can take care of the system” (Waltz 1979: 106). More over Waltz also describes the international system is decentralized and anarchical and the State is the only relevant actor.

HOW BOKO HARAM WILL IMPACT THE WORLD PEACE

In the international system Boko Haram is a national liberation movement for its own cause. In international relations these movements are positive actions to achieve their needs in their country. But the reality is Boko Haram’s actions are totally violating the international law. They have taken law in their hands and forged a justice of their own, to form an Islamic State by toppling the existing government.

Some of the actions of Boko Haram that would affect world peace includes the killings of thousands of civilians mostly in the north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja.

Boko Haram has been labeled as a terrorist organization by the United States in 2010, amid fears that it had developed links with other militant groups, such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, to wage a global jihad (BBC, 2014).

The more the other countries involved in the Nigerian conflict for the peace solution, those countries may have a threat as they are interfering a religious ideology which other international organizations may have started to follow or tend to follow. Some other countries including France and Britain have joined the search team in the search for the missing school girls who have being abducted by the suspect Boko Haram militants (BBC, 2014).

A FOCUS ON THE IMPACT ON WORLD PEACE BY OTHER VIOLENT NON-STATE ACTORS’

The United States President, Barak Obama had said that Boko Haram terrorist group and other terrorist organization around the world were serious threats to the world peace (BBC, 2014).

In a report by Francis (2013) discusses about the regional impact of armed conflicts that the Islamist militant group in Mali is a threat to international peace and the international community did not act to solve the conflict for nearly ten months, which allowed the militants to take over the whole of northern Mali and impose Sharia Law and the French military intervention in Mali placed the country at the top of the international affairs agenda.  This has caused wider implications not only for Mali and its neighbours, but the whole of Africa and the international community.

The conflict in Mali is described as a complex and multidimensional mixture of long-term fundamental grievances by diverse actors and groups, which was caused by first, a secessionist rebellion by Tuareg ethnic groups in northern Mali fighting for a separate independent state. Then if followed by a political and constitutional crisis occasioned by the military overthrow of the democratically elected government by the army, and the conflict is also an attempt by Islamist jihadists to militarily take over Mali and establish a terrorist state based on Sharia law (Francis, 2013).  Here also it was found that Mali was an anarchic state. An anarchic state may have an impact on world peace. For its security and protection, it may start armed conflicts between bordering states.

THEORITICAL VIEWS ON PEACE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM

According to Hamza Jehangir (2012), understanding the prospects for peace in international relations, it is important to know why war is such a reoccurring event in the history of nation-states and also the nature of international affairs and the determining factors which cause action, reaction, cooperation, hostility and peace between states in the international system. And to know that realism and liberalism have accounted for much of what has taken place in the international arena and they continue to offer prescriptions of state behaviour and its possible effects on peace in-between nation states.  But these theories discuss only about states’ behaviour.

IMPACT ON DOMESTIC PEACE

These impacts are physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women and men, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life, which is defined by the UN as GBV (Zenn and Pearson, 2010). According to Zenn and Pearson (2010) there is evidence that gender is an increasingly significant component of Boko Haram’s tactics, messaging, and violence.

The continuous kidnapping of women and school girls has a great impact for the future of women in Nigeria. According further reports Boko Haram has been conducting GBV against Christian women in northern areas of Nigeria, and increasing levels of sexual violence including rape, torture and also murder.

Here the violation of peace indicated that the Boko Haram is victimizing women and the act of terrorizing the Christian communities.

IMPACT ON REGIONAL PEACE

The way that the Nigerian government’s weak response to the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls, the West African countries had asked the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Boko Haram and declare it a terrorist organization where Boko Haram is being assisted by other regional Jihadist groups in West Africa like AQIM and its splinter group MUJAO (Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa) in Mali and these groups has increased Boko Haram capacities, especially in terms of financial resources, military arsenals, and training facilities that were made available (O'Reilly, 2014).

This means that other separatist groups join hands with the Boko Haram the regional stability in Western Africa is vulnerable to the regional peace. Ultimately neighbouring states relations are vulnerable which may cause a conflict between states. The diplomatic relations and peace of the regional states has weaken due to the process.

IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL PEACE

The diplomatic relations also have a consequential effect of Boko Haram insurgency on the relationship between Nigeria and other Nation of the World. Especially the violent actions of Boko Haram in Nigeria has negatively affected the relationship between Nigeria and other Nation of the world because of bombing to the UN Headquarters building in Abuja in couple with abductions of innocent school children taking with or without demand for ransom and particularly of alien which have resulted to demised of some of them and have greatly been an object of disturb not only to Nigeria but peace of International Community (Aro, 2013).

CONCLUSIONS

To sum up the formation of the Boko Haram had many crucial issues which in future other nations need to consider and adjust the operational methods of the governments to avoid an eruption of such a violent organization and ultimately causing damage to world peace. Firstly, the Nigeria had failed good governance and good leadership, which lead to social injustice, marginalization and neglect. End result causing corruption and under development in citizens, human rights violations and have no positivism towards economic empowerment and employment generation.

Ultimatum was forming this insurgent movement against the government and at the beginning or the infant stage of the Boko Haram the government’s attitude towards crisis was flatfooted.

REFERENCES

 

1.                   Neumann, I and Waever, O (1997) p.271 & 272. The Future of International Relations.

2.                   O'Reilly, M (2014). Sanctions Needed for Boko Haram, But Weakest Link Is in Regional Response at: http://theglobalobservatory.org/interviews/745-international-sanctions-needed-for-boko-haram-but-weakest-link-is-at-regional-level.html [Accessed 4^th July 2014]

3.                   Aro, O (2013). ‘Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria: Its Implication and Way Forwards toward Avoidance of Future Insurgency’ International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, Issue 11, November 2013 3 ISSN 2250-3153 [Online] at: http://www.academia.edu/3559251/BOKO_HARAM_INSURGENCY_IN_NIGERIA_ITS_IMPLICATION_AND_WAY_FORWARDS_TOWARD_AVOIDANCE_OF_FUTURE_INSURGENCY

4.                   Zenn, J and Pearson, E (2010). ‘Women, Gender and the Evolving Tactics of Boko Haram’ Journal of Terrorism Research Volume 5, Issue 1 Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence [Online] at: https://ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/jtr/article/view/828/707 [Accessed 4^th July 2014]

5.                   BBC (2014). Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists? at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13809501 [Accessed 1^st July 2014]

6.                   Geneva Call (2013). Armed Non-state Actors at: http://www.genevacall.org/how-we-work/armed-non-state-actors/ [Accessed 2^nd July 2014]

7.                   Francis, D (2013). The regional impact of the armed conflict and French intervention in Mali at: http://www.peacebuilding.no/var/ezflow_site/storage/original/application/f18726c3338e39049bd4d554d4a22c36.pdf [Accessed 2^nd July 2014]

8.                   Jehangir, H. (2012). Realism, Liberalism and the Possibilities of Peace at: http://www.e-ir.info/2012/02/19/realism-liberalism-and-the-possibilities-of-peace/ [Accessed 2^nd July 2014]