The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was hailed as the “End of History”. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West celebrated a victory for liberal democracy, anticipating a new era of global peace. However, a compelling article by Ibrahim Moiz, “The Road to the Unipolar Crusade,” argues that for the Muslim world, this was not the dawn of peace but the beginning of a new kind of confrontation. It marked the start of a “unipolar American order” that systematically began to pathologize the Muslim world, setting the stage for decades of conflict.
From Ally to Adversary
The article’s central argument is that with communism defeated, the West quickly required a new global adversary to justify its foreign policy. This role was filled by “political Islam”. Nowhere was this shift clearer than in Afghanistan. In the 1980s, the United States actively supported the Islamist mujahideen, championing their “rage” as a righteous force against Soviet occupation. Yet, once the Soviets withdrew, these same groups were recast as the new threat. The complex civil war that followed was not seen as a predictable outcome of political fragmentation after a brutal occupation, but was instead widely portrayed in the West as the inevitable, chaotic result of “Islamic fundamentalism” itself.
The “New World Order” in Action
This new approach wasn’t just rhetorical; it was backed by military might. The 1991 Gulf War was the pivotal moment. President George H. W. Bush’s declaration of a “New World Order” was, in reality, a proclamation of American dominance. The swift military campaign was less about defending Kuwait and more a demonstration of America’s unchallenged supremacy in a new unipolar world.
This pattern continued elsewhere. The UN’s humanitarian mission in Somalia in 1992 quickly became a vehicle for American power. One Pakistani commander resigned in disgust, noting the operation felt like the U.S. had found an “animal to test” its new vaccine for conflict resolution on. What was framed as a multilateral mission to feed the hungry was, in practice, a cover for flexing American hegemonic muscle.
A Legacy of Intervention
Moiz’s historical overview contends that the 1990s were a foundational period. Regional conflicts, from the Fertile Crescent to the Horn of Africa, were increasingly viewed through a simplistic and hostile lens. Unconditional U.S. support for Israel continued to fuel deep resentment , while nations like Libya and Sudan found themselves squarely in the crosshairs of the new global order. By framing complex political grievances as symptoms of a dangerous “Muslim rage,” the stage was set for a “unipolar crusade”—an era of interventionism and “muscular liberalism” that continues to shape our world today. ….more
