Sovereignty and "Jihadist" movements: a comparison of conflict in Northern Ireland and Uganda

Abstract

This article synthesizes three theories of globalization (Jihad vs. McWorld, global governance theory, and world culture theory) to explain variance in conflict between two different cases. The Irish Republican Movement (IRM) or Irish Republican Army (IRA), formerly active in Northern Ireland, and the Lord's Resistance Movement (LRM) or Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), active in Uganda since the late 1980s, are compared. Both conflicts are results of post-colonial turmoil that established systems of social stratification based on standards imposed by British imperialism. However, the conflict in Northern Ireland has come to a more peaceful, and therefore more successful, resolution while the conflict in Uganda continues to increase. Such variance is due to the reformation of the Irish Republican Movement along globally legitimized prescriptions, while the Lord's Movement has failed to do so. This comparative study helps illustrate a malleable, although generic, solution for conflict resolution.