An ISIS convoy (Representational image) | Twitter | @Intlatm
The Middle East has been a hotbed for terrorists and violent extremists for many decades, with various groups emerging due to the power vacuum created by the United States’ intervention in these countries’ internal matters it has become a fertile ground for extremist ideologies and terrorist groups to flourish and expand. The presence of these groups also gives way to Sectarian violence, political instability, poverty, targeted discrimination, and many other horrific crimes.
The United State’s intervention in Iraq for example after ousting Saddam Hussein and his government the US dissolved the bath Party and the military rendering thousands of trained soldiers and officers jobless, with a vacuum created ISIS took birth and many of these soldiers joined the ranks of ISIS to fight American forces present in Iraq and subsequently the fight spilled over to Syria where American forces were targetted by ISIS when the United States helped the rebels fight the Syrian Government led by Bashar Al Assad who was backed by Russia at that time and is still present due to America failing to enact a regime change in Syria the American forces abandoned the rebel forces which led to dissent among them and ISIS capitalized on the opportunity and recruited and expanded its influence in Syria. In Afghanistan, America created the Mujahideen with the help of Pakistan to fight the Soviet Union but once the Soviet Union left Afghanistan America abandoned the Mujahideen, and a power vacuum was created which started infighting in the Mujahideen which gave rise to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The common point in both cases is that America intervened and destroyed the country in the name of democracy then left the country in a ruined state to its people hence giving rise to Anti-western and Anti-American sentiments. These groups wage war against the West in the name of Islam and hence can brainwash the youth who are a majority of their fighters. The justification given by these groups to fight against the West is Arab sovereignty and fighting a holy war (Jihad) against infidels (non-believers in Islam) is a straight ticket to heaven. The majority of their ranks are made up of misguided people who believe in this nonsensical extremist ideology to the point where they can blow up themselves in the name of Allah.
Political instability and the failure of Governance
Political instability and failure to provide basic needs and security to the people can be one of the reasons attributed to the presence of such extremist terror groups. In many Middle Eastern countries, Authoritarian regimes have stifled dissent and failed to address the needs of the people leading to the marginalization of communities and failure to solve economic disparities which lead to the alienation of Individuals making them more susceptible to radicalization. The absence of strong government institutions and the presence of widespread corruption have provided these countries a fertile ground for Extremist recruitment.
Socio-economic impact
Socio-economic grievances including poverty, income disparity, discrimination, unemployment, and inequality present an ideal scenario for the recruitment of disgruntled populations into extremist terror groups in the hopes that once these groups come to power they will create an equal and just society and may offer monetary compensation to alleviate the immediate suffering due to Socio-economic grievances. Terrorist groups often target countries where there is no dearth of these grievances as it is a hotbed for a population who is disgruntled with the administration.
To address the problem of terror groups wreaking havoc in countries the above-mentioned problem of socioeconomic and political instability should be addressed along with the inclusion of people in various programs and schemes so that they do not feel marginalized and make the wrong decision to join an extremist terror group, to finish terrorism the root cause has to be solved.
