25 years of 9/11 | Birth of the new world order

Who pulled the strings? The idea that the plane attacks on September 11, 2001 were an American “inside job” became a popular conspiracy theory. Photo: Archive, Wikimedia [M] If you look at the disputes on the (German) left after September 11, 2001, you can see a similar polarized conflict structure to the current one. In retrospect, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon marked a turning point that further intensified existing conflicts that continue to have repercussions today. This conflict situation primarily concerns the enormous change in the global (dis)order, the beginning of a global security structure that was characterized by new wars, the “War on Terror” and “Regime Change” operations. At that time, the “new world order” – as it says in the subtitle of the then extremely successful book “Empire” by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri – was interpreted as operations by a world internal police force of the empire, against which a multitude of resistance would form. This hope for a strong anti-globalization movement brought with it the question of whether or not fascist groups could also be part of that multitude.

The attacks of September 11, 2001 came at a time when new opportunities for action seemed to be opening up for a global left after the fall of the Eastern Bloc. The anti-globalization (or alter-)globalization movement, which took the form of summit protests, brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets between Seattle 1999 and Genoa 2001 under the banner “Another world is possible.” At the same time, however, the attacks took place during the second intifada, which centered on suicide attacks in Israel. Within the left-wing landscape, this meant debates and struggles about the possibilities and limits of the summit protests and at the same time an intensification of the battles over Israel and anti-Semitism.

For some, 9/11 meant something like the return of the real: the real violence of the system, which was now becoming visible at the center.

In this situation, 9/11 fueled a pre-existing anti-Americanism in parts of the left. Through a dichotomization of the supposedly "artificial" and alienated USA versus "real" societies, as well as through the shortened criticism of financial capital and its center on the US east coast, this criticism has always bordered on anti-Semitic resentment. Therefore, the attacks could also be perceived as part of a global fight against capitalism.

The theorist Susan Sontag spoke of the heroism of the assassins in contrast to the bombers of the West. The philosopher Jean Baudrillard, with almost open glee, saw this as an event that everyone would have wished for. There was also the view that 9/11 meant something like the return of the real in the globalized consumer society: the real violence of the system, which was now becoming visible at the center. This set a framework for interpretation that left the agency of the attackers - as well as the jihadist organizations - unnoticed. Violence was solely that of the system that the USA embodied. This opened the door to conspiracy theories.

The attacks also coincided with the spread of the Internet, new publication channels and a fundamental change in the political public sphere. Due to the sequence of the attacks and the live broadcast, the media structure of the event and the production of images are part of the reception history. This increased the effects of derealization and the spread of conspiracy ideologies. While the left initially tried to incorporate the attacks into the theories of globalization - or their respective ideas about it - right-wing channels such as Alex Jones' "Infowars" directly described 9/11 as an "inside job" staged by the secret service.

Relatively quickly, however, "theories" about the attacks, from the CIA plot to Israel as the real mastermind, also found their way into left-wing discourses and publications. Books like those by the former “Taz” author Mathias Bröckers or the former Federal Minister Andreas von Bülow were received affirmatively – also in “nd”, by the way. In the article in question, questions about 9/11 were summarized as to whether it was the US secret services themselves or whether they only knowingly allowed it to happen. The “Junge Welt” also speculated whether the US government could be expected to commit mass murder in order to promote a more uninhibited military foreign policy. The enormous upheavals in the global system are attributed to the actions of a few powerful people in secret.

The dispute subsequently escalated in the German-speaking left over anti-imperialism, anti-Semitism and the question of the relationship to jihadist groups. Some anti-imperialist groups began to openly support reactionary terrorist groups, as the “10 euros for the Iraqi resistance” campaign made clear. The leading group, Anti-Imperialist Coordination from Vienna, stood together with fascists at a rally against Israel a few years later. At the same time, parts of the anti-German scene took the path towards a civilizationalism that made them exaggerate the “West” and adopt racist stereotypes.

In addition, a sub-scene of conspiracy ideologists formed in which left and right came together over the conspiracy ticket. Right-wing “Truthers” and “Infowarriors” joined forces with left-wing peace activists in the 2014 Vigils for Peace cross-front project. The perception of the global crisis processes as machinations of hidden powers also became a huge market thanks to new media. Ideologically, this conspiracy thinking quickly became linked to the AfD. So-called truth congresses were held, especially locally and regionally, at which conspiracy ideologists were brought together with interest rate critics and GEZ enemies. This meant networking a milieu that then became “lateral thinking” and also changed the party landscape, not only with the Die Basis party, but also with the BSW.

After October 7, 2023, many actors from the campist post-9/11 spectrum reappeared on the radical left and played a key role in shaping the anti-Zionist protests. Here too, the assessment and analysis of the new global conflicts tended to resort to dichotomous explanations. The unwillingness to conceptually face the new situation is part of the ongoing defeat of emancipatory movements.

The attacks of September 11th showed that the shaping of a possible other world can also be taken over by reactionary and even fascist forces. Upheavals in the global power constellation are not only opportunities for emancipatory changes, but also pave the way for fascist successes. Instead of reflecting on their own powerlessness in this situation, parts of the left prefer to project agency onto groups that contradict all emancipatory elements and lose themselves in an apology for the supposed anti-imperialism of dictatorial, ultra-repressive regimes. This recently became clear in the debate about the open letter in solidarity with political prisoners in Iranian torture prisons.

The 9/11 event is part of a global constellation that shapes the political landscape today. In its analysis, the left failed to see these attacks as part of a series of defeats. The dissolution of the global order and US hegemony did not lead to a strengthening of global left forces, but rather provided the structure for regional and national fascistization processes. This is a realization that should lead to a rethinking of many (dogmatic) left-wing beliefs. Not least to counteract the current powerlessness and weakness.

The »nd.Genossenschaft« belongs to its readers and authors. They are the ones who make our journalism accessible to everyone through their contribution: We are not backed by a media company, not a large advertising customer or even a billionaire.

With your support we can continue to:

→ report independently and critically → address overlooked topics → give space to marginalized voices → counter misinformation → advance left-wing debates

With “Pay voluntarily” you can take part. You help ensure that this newspaper has a future. So that nd remains.