WANA Institute Chairman calls for rational approach in the face of Daesh

Earlier this week, the Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft (International Politics and Society) journal published an article written by WANA Institute Chairman, HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal. Titled The Lesson of Daesh’s Triumph, the article critically examines the international community’s response to the so-called “Islamic State” and questions whether they have adopted the correct approach.

HRH argues that the proper response to Daesh should not entail missiles and military interventions, but rather, good governance.

He contends that drawing comparisons between what is presently occurring in the West Asia – North Africa region with what once occurred in pre-War Europe is pointless because the underlying issues are unrelated. Daesh, he argues, was born from several decades of persistent destruction and devastation in Iraq; geo-political and ideological rivalry with neighbouring Iran; persecution of Kurdish and Shia communities at the hands of Saddam Hussein; and the chronic suffering wrought by a decade of sanctions and foreign intervention. One-dimensional analysis that simplifies the current crisis to a religious-sectarian proxy war based on borders is ineffectual.

HRH urges governments to heed the lessons of Daesh’s triumph and address the symptoms that originally created the vacuums of power in the first instance.

You can read the full article here.