Clash of Icon Worship
by Colonel William M. Darley, Small Wars Journal
The Genetic Roots of the War on Terrorism (Full PDF Article)
In its January/February 2006 edition, Foreign Affairs published a rather odd article (for a journal that otherwise specializes in political analysis and commentary) that appeared to get much less attention than it really deserved. In the article, titled "A Natural History of Peace," Stanford Professor Robert M. Sapolsky compares and contrasts human aggressive tendencies with well-documented propensities for violence among several species of primates, and develops a case suggesting that human aggression of the kind that produces warfare mainly stems from the genetic impulses rooted in humans as primates (not a new suggestion of itself). But more significantly, he offers proof extracted from a now robust body of field work that even strong genetic tendencies for violence in certain species of primates can be mitigated by exposure to the equivalent of "cultural" forces. He singles out from the body of such observations the case history of one group of baboons (a particularly aggressive and violent species of primate) that he calls the Forest Troop, the intensely aggressive behavior of which was ameliorated after exposure to the more peaceful and tolerant "mores" of another baboon troop of an identical species with which the Forest Troop had come in contact. He concludes by asserting that "some primate species can make peace despite violent traits that seem built into their natures." He goes on to muse, "The challenge now is to figure out under what conditions that can happen, and whether humans can manage the trick themselves."
Sapolsky's argument frames the issues associated with the current global conflict in which the United States is now engaged in a potentially very useful light: as a biological problem best understood and dealt with using means specifically tailored to deal with human genetic tendencies in order to promote cooperation and tolerance instead of competitive violence. This stands in contrast to the current approach which appears to assume that the conflict mainly results from a combination of cultural and economic factors that can be dealt with by a strategy that combines selected violence, targeted monetary investments mixed, and cross cultural messages through so called strategic communications. However, understanding the problem as having its roots in primordial genetic urges would focus the search for solutions in a somewhat different way. The first step would be exploring in detail root biological causes for aggressive behaviors in the human species as a member of the family of primates, and then formulating specific measures (not just confined to persuasion or economic investment) needed to channel such biologically behaviors in ways that are conducive to peaceful social co-existence.
The Genetic Roots of the War on Terrorism (Full PDF Article)
