Neoconservatism and Radical Islam

Paper Summary:

This paper extensively explores neoconservatism and Islamism, two dominant and warring ideologies of present times, through an analysis of Adam Curtis' documentary, "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear". The paper explains that the film deals with the phenomenon of politicians exploiting fear about terrorism to solidify and consolidate their power as well as provides a historical overview of the ascendance of the Neoconservative movement and Islamism as a political ideology. The paper further relates that the film advances the view that these two intellectual strains have much in common because they grew out of the same stimuli and view the world in a similar way: Both ideologies were the products of the perceived failure of past idealism (defined as western liberalism). The paper then summarizes Curtis' documentary and analyzes the philosophical currents of the film. In particular, the paper analyzes those thematic elements that relate to subjects in political theory: the concept of freedom and the power of fear.

From the Paper:

"The religious language and themes used when framing grand existential struggles, be they against the Soviet Union or Islamic radicalism, are no coincidence. From his earliest days, Strauss invoked the dual forces of religion and state in the construction of
noble lies of external threat to provide internal validation. The courting of religious organizations and individuals by the right was conscious, systematic, and by design- strongly encouraged by their neoconservative wing."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Beware the Holy War" Peter Bergen "The Nation" June 20, 2005
• "After Neoconservatism" Francis Fukuyama "The New York Times" February 19, 2006
• "Ayman Muhammad Rabi' Al-Zawahiri" Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli "Jewish Virtual Library" March 11, 2003 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/zawahir.html
• "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism" (Selection from Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell Copyright April, 1983 Published by the Penguin Group (USA) New York, New York.
• Jihad vs. McWorld Benjamin R. Barber Ballantine Books 1995 New York, New York

More papers on Neoconservatism and Radical Islam:

• Book Review # 46523 : "America and Political Islam"
• Analytical Essay # 135974 : "The Relationship between Islam and pan-Islam"
• Comparison Essay # 65827 : "Realism, Liberalism and Radicalism"

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