Neo-Medievalism II

In the first post, Forget the Gap, try the Middle Ages, I discussed ungoverned space, and how it relates to gangs, international criminal networks, terrorists and Feudalism. While doing various research for follow up posts, I began thinking about PNM Theory.

The aforementioned organizations all operate in ungoverned spaces, physical and non-physical areas where the state fails to govern. So, continuing with the comparison to the Middle Ages, I’d like to go back in history. The onset of the Middle Ages was caused by the collapse of Rome, which shattered the empire into various pieces, each disconnected from the other. This meant roads in disrepair, the collapse of money and the return of bartering and that land was the source of power and legitmacy. What brought on the collapse of Rome? According to Henri Pirenne, it was the Arab invasions which closed the Mediterranean to trade. The Mediterranean was Rome’s heart, the most vital connecting point which pumped energy, people, security and money throughout the empire. After the heart stopped, the body parts died quickly.

But ironically, as the Umayyad Caliphate expanded and developed, it was Europe who was backwards, becoming more and more disconnected. The Muslim invasions of Spain and small parts of France was in part, their attempt to shrink the Gap. After all, historically, Spain was much better off than the rest of Europe while under Islamic control.

Two events ended the Caliphate and began the slow process of reconnecting Europe. The first was the Crusades, or the original Clash of Civilizations, as some like to say. The second was the Mongols, who decapitated the Caliphate in 1258 by laying waste to Baghdad and permanantly ending Arab rule. Thereafter, the Mediterannean slowly reopened for business, but not before the center of gravity of European civilization had been shifted north which was a result of the original fall of the Mediterranean. If disconnectedness defines danger, then it should come as no surprise that Rome was constantly threatened by the onslaught of barbarians, disconnected and jealous of Rome and that the Arabs were then attacked by the Europeans, who were also disconnected from the Core of the times.

Today, the reverse is true. Though the Ottoman Empire did pick up the pieces of the Caliphate and run with them, for quite some time, it too fell leaving a mess of pieces which, in turn, European empires scooped back up. After World War II and the decolonization process, they were again left alone and disconnected.

However, we must now turn to the rest of the world. Just as the fall of Rome brought about the Middle Ages and Feudalism in Europe, so too has decolonization brought about a similar situation to much of the world. In areas which have a very weak unifying bond, if any, the new state, is equally weak and fragile. Thus, neo-feudal lords have created their own fiefdoms all over the world. Whether they are favelas in Brazil, slums in the US, narco-states in Columbia, or tribes in the Middle East and Central Asia, large portions of humanity have moved backwards into primary loyalties, what some consider to be the most basic social units, the tribe or gang. On top of that, communications and travel have also facilitated international networks which are based on common causes, whether it be Greenpeace of Al Qaeda. The nexus thereof, ungoverned space, creates a network of internationally connected fiefdoms which engage in smuggling, trafficking, terrorism and other forms of organized crime. The Coming Anarchy meets Global Guerillas.