(Barnett 2000). From this, one can therefore argue that the colonial and imperial
mentalities towards colonised states are still present today and can largely
underpin the trajectory of a conflict. This prevents proportionate humanitarian aid
to be administered which can also contribute to the intensity of conflict. This
further reinforces the argument that contemporary global conflicts are influenced
by race to a large extent.
To conclude, it has been argued that contemporary global conflicts are to a
large extent influenced by race. The paper firstly examined how the concept of
race is used by the media and political actors to manipulate opinion and justify
violence; using the War on Terror as a case study. The paper then moved on to
consider a counter-argument whereby the influential nature of race was
undermined through an examination of the environment as a substantial factor in
provoking war. However, this argument was found to be unconvincing when the
colonial, imperialist and racial history was uncovered, ultimately highlighting
race as an underlying motivation for why conflicts are established and how the
international community responds to them. It can therefore be conclusively
argued that race still has a considerable influence on contemporary global
conflicts and will likely remain a prevalent factor in the security of the global
political landscape for many years.
49
Made with FlippingBook HTML5