Contesting Hegemony? The Islamic Nation as a Dominant Actor in International Relations.

CONTESTING HEGEMONY? THE ISLAMIC NATION AS A DOMINANT ACTOR IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Sakah S. Mahmud Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky and The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies University of Notre Dame Abstract September 11, 2001, the war against terrorism and the defeat of Iraq have played into the hands of the Islam versus the West perspective in world affairs. The fact is that whether one accepts the theory that Islam as a religion is responsible or whether the events are the result of other social and political factors present in the Middle East, Muslims and their religion hare been put on the defensive. The events have also resulted in enlightened debates among Muslims around the world concerning the role of Islam in world politics. At the center of this debate is the nature and role of the Islamic Nation that is far removed from the terrorism debate into a focus on a legitimate and leading actor in international relations. This development leads to a number of questions that are important to international relations theory and practice. What kind of actor would the Islamic Nation be? What are its attributes? And how would it function as an actor in World affairs? And finally how would it fair in comparison to other dominant actors in contemporary international relations? Answers to these questions are important in the light of the fact that the debate the post September 11 will continue to haunt international relations for the foreseeable future. In this paper I analyze the above debate and argue that for the envisioned Islamic Nation to become a major actor in World affairs it would first have to fight within itself for legitimacy. That is, an internal struggle for peace and against the faction advocating violence. Following that and on a positive note, it would have the numbers and perhaps the economic resources to win that internal struggle and to play a major role in international relations. However, the paper also argues that the next phase would be measuring up to other dominant actors where the Islamic Nation would face major challenges in organizational structure and power capabilities to enable it to play such a dominant role. In the final analysis while the idea of an Islamic Nation would continue to draw our attention and enrich scholarly debate. It may even continue to challenge theoretically, current hegemonic powers, the above challenges would limit its potential and actual role as a dominant actor in international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]