Terrorism in Post Cold War Iraq and Palestine: Causes and Implications to Middle East Politics

Abstract

The incidence of terrorism in world politics is historical. In the Cold War era, this phenomenon was aided by the covert or overt activities of the extant superpowers; the United States and Soviet Union, and their client states. In the face of the collapse of communism and the emergence of the US as the only surviving hegemony, an unprecedented attention has been drawn to the phenomenon partly because of its heightened occurrences as a result of old agitations as well as in reaction to America’s status and its implications. These have set off political uncertainties with state and non state actors in the international system reacting to the asymmetric power distribution in various ways, including terrorist options. This work therefore examines terrorism in post Cold War Iraq and Palestine, its causes and implications for Middle East politics.