A unilateral America in a post-unipolar world
Twenty-five years after 9/11, America’s war on terror has also altered its strategic position worldwide
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Context
The article analyzes the trajectory of United States foreign policy since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It argues that the U.S. 'Global War on Terror' evolved into flawed regime-change wars that ultimately eroded its unipolar dominance, destabilized regions from West Asia to North Africa, and failed to eliminate terrorism, while simultaneously creating strategic openings for rivals like China and Russia in an emerging multipolar world order.
UPSC Perspectives
Geopolitical
The transition from a unipolar world order (where one state exercises most of the cultural, economic, and military influence) to a multipolar world order is central to this analysis. After the Cold War, the U.S. enjoyed unrivaled primacy. However, its strategic overreach through interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya created a geopolitical vacuum and widespread instability. This distraction allowed China to rise economically and militarily as a systemic rival, and emboldened Russia to challenge the security architecture in Europe (e.g., the invasion of Ukraine). For UPSC Mains, analyze how strategic overstretch weakens hegemonic powers and accelerates the transition to multipolarity. Discuss how the perceived weakness of a superpower (like the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan) can act as a catalyst for regional conflicts by altering the risk calculus of revisionist states.
Security
The evolution of global terrorism post-9/11 demonstrates the failure of conventional military approaches to counter-terrorism. The U.S. strategy of regime change under the guise of democratisation (neoconservative foreign policy) destabilized states like Iraq and Libya, creating ungoverned spaces. This allowed groups like to decentralise into autonomous cells and franchise operations. Crucially, the destruction of the Iraqi state facilitated the rise of (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) from the remnants of in Iraq. The article highlights that terrorism has now become more dispersed across the Sahel region in Africa, West Asia, and South Asia. For GS Paper 3, understand the difference between defeating a terrorist organization militarily versus eliminating the underlying socio-political conditions (like state collapse and governance deficits) that breed radicalization and insurgency.
Regional Dynamics
The U.S. interventions significantly altered the regional balance of power, particularly in West Asia. The removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq eliminated a historical buffer against Iran. This unintended consequence empowered Iran, allowing it to expand its influence through Shia militias, creating an axis of resistance. The article notes the current U.S. predicament: attempting to pivot to the Indo-Pacific to counter China but being repeatedly dragged back into West Asian conflicts, exacerbated by its staunch alliance with Israel (highlighting the October 7, 2023, attacks and subsequent regional escalation). For UPSC, evaluate the concept of offshore balancing versus direct intervention. Candidates should be able to analyze how external interventions in the Middle East often exacerbate sectarian divides and create long-term security dilemmas for the intervening powers, limiting their strategic autonomy globally.