Hero and Anti-hero in the age of realpolitik
By: Dr. Mehdi S. Shariati Contemporary socio-economic and political landscape is the product of centuries of wars, expansion, competition for resources, colonial expropriation and control. In an attempt to avoid total war and destruction, various treaties, rules and regulations in the context of multilateral organizations have been agreed upon. All nation-states (signatories) are obligated to adhere to these rules and any violation would in most cases receive reprimand and punishment. Wars in the distant past for most part were between neighbors with common borders. In the post-Colonial era, wars have not and do not recognize physical boundaries and ethnic and religious conflicts have wreaked havoc within and between nation-states. Even though proxy wars have been waged throughout modern history, contemporary forms are not bound by geography and are by far more deadly and often without clear objectives except to strengthen the cult of personality in its primitive f...