Combat the Root Causes of Terrorism
STORY: President Bush says the United States will combat terrorism through retaliatory military strikes as well as through diplomatic channels. But University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) international relations expert Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., says that while military strikes will be helpful in the short run, to combat terrorism effectively in the long run, the United States must attack the root causes of terrorism: religious fundamentalism and poverty.
WHO: Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science who studies issues of international security and the political economy. He is an executive board member of the (Persian) Gulf States Committee of the National Council on U.S. -- Arab Relations.
WHAT: Zahariadis argues that U.S. military strikes could actually create more martyrs for the terrorists' cause. In addition, Bush's call for support by the leaders of various Muslim nations means some leaders are going against the sentiments of many of their own citizens. Instead, the United States must focus on fighting religious fundamentalism, as well as poverty.
"You combat religious fundamentalism by encouraging democratic participation, in addition to economic development. Religious fundamentalism is simply the outcome of seeking to impose some meaning into your life and your future under incredible change and when public participation and deliberation are not available. Simply put, things change so fast and are so beyond your control that you have no stake in your future. Therefore, you seek religious dogma to help you give meaning to your awful condition.
"By going after poverty, we give people a stake in the future, and by democratic deliberation, we help them to give meaning to that condition. The problem in the Middle East is that things are changing so fast and political authorities are so brutally repressive, that the only way people can understand who they are -- the argument is often put as trying to preserve their culture -- is to seek solace in [religion]. It's easy for religious leaders to exploit this for political purposes. Unfortunately, we will not fight terrorism effectively because our "friends" fighting terrorism are the same repressive governments we need to reform."
CONTACT: Gail Short, UAB Media Relations, 205-934-8931 or [email protected].
###
RSS