Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Worldwide Wars and Anti-Military Options in the 21st Century

Johannes Becker | 21.03.2006 22:21 | Anti-militarism | World

The wars at the beginning of the 21st century are marked by US unilateralism, distribution battles over dwindling resources, the growing gulf between poor and rich and the new role of Islam in this connection.. Offensive wars do not appear winnable today.

WORLDWIDE WARS AND ANTI-MILITARY OPTIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

By Johannes Becker

[This article published 3/8/2006 is translated from the German on the World Wide Web,  http://www.imi-online.de/2006.php3?id=1211/]

[Johannes Becker presented the following theses on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the information study group on militarization on 3/5/2006 in Tubingen, Germany.]


THESES

1. The wars at the beginning of the 21st century are marked

1.1 by US unilateralism since the end of the East-West confrontation
1.2 by distribution battles over dwindling resources and
1.3 by the growing gulf between poor and rich and the new role of Islam in this connection

2. The role of the European Union as an economic “global player” (.5 billion producers/consumers) is obscure. If its constitution is ratified and observed, the EU will enter into a military competition with the US – a fatal development. Alternatives are manifest.

3. In all states of the EU (and also in the US), the process of “banalizing evil” runs almost without a hitch – the counteracting forces seem marginalized. A “new picture of war” has seized the thinking of people.

4. Since “9/11,” the US has declared “war against international terror” and legitimates this with the policy of “permanent intervention and prevention/preemption.” The driving interests of the US are only peripherally affected by the attacks. Russia also saw itself legitimated by the US- and EU-policy in Yugoslavia (1999) that is through the violation of the UN Charter, to be agents in Chechechnya and elsewhere.

5. New scapegoats are fabricated according to economic and geopolitical interests. In foreign policy, Iraq will have control over a third of the earth’s oil supply in 25 years. Iran today is the fourth largest oil- and gas exporter and the leading political power of Islam. In domestic policy, scapegoats include the “social hammock,” the welfare exploiter, Rhine capitalism, long-term unemployed, immigrants and refugees…

6. Offensive wars do not appear winnable today, e.g. Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq… North Korea has nuclear arms and Iran is striving for that deterrent. In Venezuela, the population is arming itself (by a dictator as the dominant media wants to make us believe). The consequences for all who do not profit from war are clear…

7. Hope comes from Latin America today. Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia clearly follow a different logic of economics. Brazil, Argentina, Chile and others are at least rescued from the claws of military dictatorships. Unilateralism sees itself on the defensive here.

8. Besides the traditional conflicts between pacifists and non-pacifists, the points at issue for the worldwide peace movement include

8.1 assessment of the role of the US versus national imperialisms (for example, in Germany: “anti-Americanism” and “anti-German”),
8.2 assessment of EU militarization in the constitution of the EU (general rejection) and
8.3 assessment of the potentials of supranational organizations like the UN and OSZE.
8.4 The worldwide peace movement is united in principle in the rejection of globalization since 1989/90. The poor become more defenseless and poorer. The strong economies penetrate all markets. In the headwind of “globalization,” neoliberalism even splits the societies of the rich states.
8.5 Conflicts over the character of liberation movements in developing countries (for example, the “Bolivarian revolution” in Venezuela and Cuba) move to the background.

9. Altogether the peace movement has not mobilized a strong non-parliamentary movement against the shift in security policy from an orientation in civil logic to military logic (“German way,” “defense of German interests in Hindukusch”).. This counteracting force also does not exist in neighboring European countries – whose political cultures are strongly interventionist. The connection between the “civilizing” conflict catalysors social cuts (cf. scapegoats) and globalization on one side and extensive militarization on the other side is only seen by a minority.

10. The peace movement and movement research ignore the influence of social- and economic policy on the condition of the country. On one hand, there is the question about the enormous difference in the intervention activity of Germany/EU/NATO (the German army has thousands of soldiers in several conflicts, Germany’s freedom is defended in Hindukusch, the “de-tabooing” of the military was the essential result of the first Schroeder/Fischer period). On the other hand, there is no visible anti-military movement (unlike the 1980s). This has to do with three factors:

a) People are alarmed by the mass unemployment, future fears, lack of perspective of youth, and fears of impoverishment
b) People have internalized the individual blaming by the rulers. The “error” of eight (!) million unemployed is sought with individuals, not with the system!
c) People believe “there is nothing to distribute” in this country. We must especially oppose points b) and c).

Conclusion: The options of the anti-militarist movements include continuous enlightenment about the connections, not becoming discouraged, not succumbing to the “charm of power”, not making rotten compromises and continuing to listen to one another. Be IMI – instinctively-mainstream-ignoring!

Johannes Becker
- e-mail: mbatko@lycos.com
- Homepage: http://www.mbtranslations.com

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech