Daily Times

The prevalent international environment is too complex and uncertain. The Democrats are unable to decide whether to field President Biden for the November 2024 elections against Donald Trump or not. The Labour Party has broken its records to through unelected Rishi Sunak out of power. French President Macron has also suffered defeat in the general elections though he remains the President. Prime Minister Modi has returned to power, this time with the help of coalition partners.
On the other hand, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza continue with the stronger parties making gains. There is no respite for the people of Kashmir and no solution to the Yemen and Syrian conflicts. This brings me to my earlier claims that the present leadership across the Western world is not sincere and competent to resolve the ears and conflicts across different regions.
The Russian and Chinese leaderships are competent and strong enough to deal with such issues but they are too busy consolidating their powers to overthrow the hegemony of the US as a sole superpower.
What do we do now? Should we leave the noncombatants at the mercy of Unequal Military Powers (UMPs) to convert the places into ruins: Gaza, Rafah, Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and many African countries, or should make an academic effort to these protracted conflicts.
The suggestions listed below may sound too simplistic, or too idealistic, but these are certainly doable if pursued sincerely by competent people across the globe, particularly for protracted conflicts like Palestine, Kashmir, Yemen, Syria, and even the Ukrainian war.
I believe that the protracted conflicts, a few of them listed above do not have short and simple solutions, but these cannot be left alone due to t his reason that there has been too much loss of life and properties of the noncombatants over the decades. Therefore, a hybrid approach must be adopted that must include efforts in all domains: diplomatic, political, sociocultural, economic, and selective military as a last resort.
I will briefly explain each of these domains in the following paragraphs, however, it is necessary to reiterate that hybrid efforts are not executed in isolation and also not by one party only.
In the diplomatic domain, positive diplomacy needs to be executed, meaning that efforts must be invested in finding doables, instead of making alliances to wage war, as has been done in the case of the Ukraine War. The diplomatic effort is conspicuously missing and the Western alliance is only supporting the war efforts hence conducting negative diplomacy. Likewise, the negative diplomacy by the US in the case of ceasefire efforts in the Gaza war has already cost thousands of lives of noncombatants, particularly children. Perhaps, it is necessary to take into account the historical legacy that Israel has inherited from the Pharos of ancient Egypt. The Pharos were killing the newly born male children only during the era before the rise of Prophet Musa (May Allah Bless Him). However, Israel is forgetting that Prophet Musa (May Allah Bless Him) not only survived but grew up in Pharo’s palace.
In concert with diplomacy, efforts must be made in the socio-cultural domain to bring the people of the warring nation closer. The Arabs (Muslims, Christians, and Jews) have lived together since ancient times. Even if they fought earlier, they knew how to co-exist in a diverse society, however, it is only since the creation of an illegal Israeli state that people have become each other’s enemy. I think the sociocultural avenues between the diverse communities can bring the temperatures down to manage the conflict under the broad heading of hybrid solutions to protracted conflicts.
I think the regional approach may be more prudent due to cultural affiliations among the communities. The extra-regional forces may be asked to leave it to the regional powers to find workable solutions in multiple domains. Let the people decide who they want to live with and how will they manage their conflicts. This Hijaz and Levante is a blessed region that has numerous resources and opportunities and can survive without any external support. Each religious community may have its historical claims on the territories and the religious sites. Let them decide who is right and who is wrong because the extra-regional support to Israel has emboldened it to ignore the rights of other communities.
Likewise, Russia and Ukraine have deep historical linkages. If it was not for NATO’s ambitious expansion toward the east to the border with Russia, President Putin would not have entered into Ukrainian territory to avoid direct contact with the NATO forces.
These wars and conflicts are mostly due to the intervention of extra-regional forces in bilateral issues. I believe finding a hybrid solution at the regional level is the key to the resolution of protracted conflicts between states. At least an effort must be made to protect the smaller states from the wrath of over-ambitious global powers.
In Part II, I will discuss other domains like political, economic, and military. (To Be Concluded)