The French Revolution and The War on Terror

History records the French Revolution as a movement that shook up the country of France between the years spanning 1787 to 1799. It is noted as being one of the most riotous social upheavals with political undercurrents in the modern time (Sherman and Salisbury). The war on terror is essentially a government focused effort to thwart terrorists. One could say that many of the causes of the French Revolution are not all that different from that of today’s war on terror. It like the French Revolution has been considered one of the more violent political and social cataclysms of the 21st century.

The reasons for the French Revolution are primarily grounded in the nation building concept, the unraveling of feudalism and the resentment of the citizenry with regard to French social operations and a lack of liberty for the citizens (Carlyle). The theory of nation building and the attacks on the United States are the primary foundations of the war on terror (Long). The definition of feudalism, which is what existed during the French Revolution, is a type of stringent political order (Sherman and Salisbury). In today’s war on lone-wolf and other types of terrorism, the dominating forces are the United States’ appeal to be the world’s police and the anti-American sentiment needing to be overthrown. This is eerily similar to the French Revolution in the concept of feudalism and the hopes of overthrowing the then political system.

Scholars and intellectuals have debated the causes of the war on terror, as they have the reasons for the French Revolution. Many countries have become angry with the United States for becoming involved in foreign affairs that in some ways do not concern them. This is reminiscent of the participation of France in the American Revolution in that they aided the U.S. in military efforts. While the U.S. wanted independence from Great Britain, France did not necessarily have to become involved (“The American Revolution”); as certain countries in the Middle East have not needed to ally themselves with the U.S. nor the U.S. with them in order to free the poorest citizens and nations in general. 

Perhaps the strongest similarity is the philosophical ideologies. The contentions of the rationales of individuals within France are quite akin to those within the war on terror in that everyone feels they are correct and their reasoning on how things should be done both politically and socially is the only way. Islamic jihadists resent the United States for meddling in their affairs. Due to the differences in philosophical ideologies, nation building has been hard to accomplish even in the more than ten years since the war on terror was defined, and before, during and after the French Revolution.

While much can be said regarding the French Revolution and the war on terror in terms of differences, it is striking that such a vast amount of similarities exist. It more or less proves the old adage that history does indeed repeat itself. It will be interesting to read how history records the war on terror once – or even if, its conclusion is reached.

Works Cited

"The American Revolution." 11h. The French Alliance. USHistory.org, 2013. Web. 4 Aug. 2013. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/11h.asp>.

Carlyle, Thomas. The French Revolution: A History. The Pennsylvania State University, Web. 4 Aug. 2013. <http://www.unilibrary.com/ebooks/Carlyle,%20Thomas%20-%20The%20French%20Revolution.pdf>.

Long, Mark. "Exploring Anti-Americanism in post-9/11 Editorial Cartoons in the U.S. and Spain." PS: Political Science and Politics (2007): Print.

Sherman, Dennis, and Joyce Salisbury. The West in the World, Volume II: From 1600. 4th. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2011. Print.