RADICAL PERIOD on THE USE of FORCE: BUSH DOCTRINE, INVASION of IRAQ and INTENSIFYING JUST/HOLY WAR DEBATES

The debate on the fight against global terrorism and the use of force has intensified in the field of international relations as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States of America perpetrated by al-Qaeda. Designing its strategy with Bush Doctrine against “new” threat within global area, United States of America’s (USA) first and concrete use of force in this context was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The present study firstly assesses the Bush Doctrine with respect to the historical and present context of the use of force. The Bush Doctrine that links a more peaceful and safe world to global democratization, is analyzed within the framework of “the just war” (bellum iustum) and its important tradition and least-emphasized dimension within the literature, holy war. In this context, the study intends to analyze USA’s discursive and political practices to justify Iraq war that brings Bush Doctrine to holy war, international reactions to these attempts and tangible results of these policies through the Iraq example