Stephens why islamists are winning

The Western powers refused to recognize the Soviet Union for some years after the Bolshevik revolution, and the United States did not do so until Given these and other precedents, can we be certain that the Islamic State might not one day become a legitimate member of the international community, with a seat at the United Nations?

General Assembly? It would be nice to think so, but history suggests a more cynical lesson. Those oh-so-posh and civilized Brits we enjoy watching on Downton Abbey?

Their ancestors created the United Kingdom through violent and brutal acts of coercion and conquest as any knowledgeable Welshman or Scot could tell you. They massacred, raped, and starved Native Americans to get there — and collected plenty of scalps along the way. As the now-deceased Charles Tilly made abundantly clear in his landmark Coercion, Capital, and European States , state-building has been a brutal enterprise for centuries, and the movements that built new states in the past did many things that we would now condemn as utterly barbaric.

An innocent blown up by an ill-aimed drone strike is just as much a victim as someone brutally beheaded by the Islamic State.

Pointing out that other state-builders acted badly in the past neither excuses nor justifies what the jihadis are doing today in Iraq and Syria. But this long history does remind us that movements that were once beyond the pale sometimes end up accepted and legitimized, if they manage to hang onto power long enough. To be accepted into the community of nations, however, radical or revolutionary movements eventually have to abandon some if not all of their most ferocious practices.

Within the movement, voices arise that call for compromise, or at least a more pragmatic approach to the outside world. The new state gradually adapts to prevailing international norms and practices, and it eventually moves from pariah to partner, especially when its interests start to coincide with those of other states.

It may still be a troublesome presence in world politics, but it is no longer ostracized. If the Islamic State manages to cling to power, consolidate its position, and create a genuine de facto state in what was previously part of Iraq and Syria, then other states will need to work together to teach it the facts of life in the international system. And because the Islamic State is not in fact that powerful, preventing it from expanding or increasing its power and imposing costs for its abhorrent behavior should not be all that hard.

The chief task for American statecraft, therefore, should be to coordinate and back up an international campaign of containment in which local actors such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and Iran — which have the most at stake — take the lead role. Stephen M. How many political murders do far-right extremists have to commit before the German government does something about it?

In recent years, the country has managed to avoid jihadi violence. But not everyone will want to copy its methods. Shusha was the key to the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now Baku wants to turn the fabled fortress town into a resort.

Live with it. By Stephen M. June 10, , PM. Photo credit: Photoillustration by FP. Argument Emanuele Ottolenghi. Germany Has a Neo-Nazi Terrorism Epidemic How many political murders do far-right extremists have to commit before the German government does something about it? Argument Peter Kuras. Is Italy Immune From Terrorism?

Argument Robin Simcox. November 11, , PM. Americans should also bear in mind that the figures reported above omit the Arabs and Muslims killed by Israel in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. To say that in no way justifies anti-American terrorism or absolves other societies of responsibility for their own mistakes or misdeeds.

Because whitewashing our own misconduct makes it harder for Americans to figure out why their country is so unpopular and makes us less likely to consider different and more effective approaches.

After all, how did we react after September 11? Stephen M. Foreign Policy, Military, Iran. Shusha was the key to the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now Baku wants to turn the fabled fortress town into a resort. By Stephen M. November 30, , PM. Foreign Policy. Read More. November 11, , PM. Blame Brussels. Trending 1. Why Ethiopia Should Trust the West. Latest Analysis. Andrew Connelly. Or are they? The Month in World Photos. Analysis Jeffrey Wilson. South Asia Brief Michael Kugelman.