Global militarisation

A piece written by Adam Branch and published by AlJazeera highlights the dangers of militarisation associated with the online campaign to make Joseph Kony 'famous' in 2012 spearheaded by the NGO Invisible Children. Branch asks "how often does the US government find millions of young Americans pleading that they intervene militarily in a place rich in oil and other resources?"

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How can the state violence in Syria be stopped? Daniel Serwer argues in the Atlantic that, given the Syrian regime’s complete failure to protect its own citizens it may be morally justifiable to arm the Syrian opposition; however from a realist perspective it is neither ‘possible nor wise’ as a means to topple Assad and bring about accountable politics. A violent reaction to the state’s overwhelmingly superior violence would not only destroy the opposition’s legitimacy, but would eventually draw them into a militarised conflict that they could not win.

Serwer strongly advocates mass-participatory non-violent approaches which use tactics that are difficult to attribute to single individuals. In the end, removing the regime’s ability to instil fear will be the surest way to ensure its downfall, as seen in the cases of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, and Serwer argues that this is still possible, even now after so much bloodshed.

Article Source: the Atlantic

Image Source: Yunchung Lee