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The Globalization of Terrorism
Global Issues 621
Chapter 23
Page 364
What is Terrorism?
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What is Terrorism?
• Unfortunately, the term ‘terrorism’ is one that has become a part of our everyday vocabulary, but how do we define the term ‘terrorism’?
• LET’S FIND OUT: In groups of two students, complete ‘The Problem of Defining Terrorism’ on pages 365 and 366.
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Geography of Terrorism
• The causes of
terrorism can often
have geographic
origins
Patterns can be mapped
Nations harbor terrorists
Nations sponsor terrorism
o Geopolitics
o Globalization
o Economic disparity
o Religious differences
o Cultural differences
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Global Patterns of Terrorism
• Modern terrorism began in
1968 when an Israeli plane
was hijacked by
Palestinian terrorists.
• But terrorism has changed
in today’s world:
1. Terrorists understand the
role mass media plays
(Internet, media releases)
2. Little care is given to
avoid death and injury to
ordinary people.
o No warnings issued
o Maximum death is the goal
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Is Terrorism Common?
• Hundreds of terrorist
acts occur each year,
but receive little
attention:
They cause little death
and/or little damage
Have we become
desensitized to the
violence?
• There are many terrorist
groups still active in the
world:
Some are presently inactive
(like the IRA);
Others are active and wreaking
havoc worldwide
o See Figure 23-3 on page 368
o Al-Qaeda (65 Nations)
o Hamas (Israel)
o Hezbollah (Lebanon)
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Is it Increasing or Decreasing?
• That depends on how it
is measured.
Do you count only
international terrorism?
Do you ignore incidents
involving attackers and
victims within one
country?
Problems arise with how
politicians and the media
choose to use these
statistics to either
exaggerate or underplay
the incidents of
terrorism.
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Objectives of Terrorism
• Terrorism isn’t, in
itself, a goal; it
is a method used to
achieve a goal.
An aspect of
asymmetrical warfare
(fought between
opponents who are not
militarily equal; the
weaker party resorts
to terrorist acts)
There are four basic
objectives of
terrorism:
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Objectives of Terrorism
1. A group wants to achieve a specific goal:
Overthrow a government
Force a foreign army to leave a country
Obtain money
Release of prisoners
2. To cause widespread fear and anxiety, hoping to break down the normal social order of the target population.
3. To provoke the target government to overreact and introduce excessively harsh counterterrorism measures, which may cause the population to oppose the government
Sound familiar?
4. Governments may use terrorist methods to force obedience from the general population (state terrorism)
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State Terrorism
• Terrorist acts carried out
by governments:
Political opponents are
murdered
Torture used to intimidate and
to gather information
Opponents ‘disappear’
• State terrorism has
declined with governments
showing more respect for
human rights
Myanmar
USA (Iraq, Afghanistan)
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State-Sponsored Terrorism
• Sometimes, a nation
doesn’t commit
terrorism, but
provides a safe haven
for terrorist groups
• (Al-Qaeda members spent
time in both Afghanistan
and Pakistan)
• USA has been accused of
supporting terrorist
regimes in Chile and
Argentina, among other
places.
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Rational Motivation
• Rational Motivation: Terrorism becomes the last
resort after other methods of
achieving goals were not
effective.
• Psychological Motivation
‘True believers’ in the
cause
Opponents are ‘evil’
Absolute beliefs and
disagreements lead to
smaller factions
• Cultural Motivation
Fear of culture and
religion coming under
threat
Terrorism becomes the
defense of one’s
culture or faith,
which is one’s DUTY
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Freedom Fighter or Terrorist?
• Depends on which side
you support.
• The US once considered
Nelson Mandela and the
African National
Congress to be
terrorists.
• As the politics of a
country change, so does
the label of
‘terrorist’ or ‘freedom
fighter’.
• Osama Bin Laden, when
fighting the Soviets in
the 1980s, was worthy
of moral and financial
support.
That changed, of course,
yet he changed very
little. Consider:
Fought for his faith
against powerful foreign
enemies, using whatever
methods he had at his
disposal.
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Changing Nature of Terrorism
• Not just guns & bombs anymore.
• Chemical Terrorism
Nerve gases
Anthrax spores
Bioterrorism
• Nuclear Threats
Acquisition of an atomic bomb
(Pakistan, India, North Korea)
Construction of a nuclear weapon
Construction of a hybrid (dirty)
bomb with nuclear wastes
Exploding a nuclear power plant
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‘War on Terror’
• It is difficult to
declare war on a
methodology – not an
enemy.
• Wars end in:
Negotiation
Surrender
Destruction of one side
• In wars against terror:
There is no country to
negotiate with
Catching/killing all
terrorists is impossible.
• Evidence suggests that
recent efforts in the
Middle East created
more terrorists than
they stopped.
• Counterterrorism
Networks of spies
Electronic surveillance
Invasions of privacy?
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Fighting Terrorism
• Arrests may be possible
for domestic terrorists
• Negotiated settlements
• Assassinations
There are legal and moral
complications in this for
governments.
• Invasion of a country
to disable the
terrorist group and the
government which
supports it.
Al-Qaeda & the Taliban in
Afghanistan
• Has led us to a lengthy
asymmetrical war
• Meanwhile, the allies
try to help rebuild the
country
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Fighting Terrorism
• GWB’s ‘axis of evil’
North Korea
Iraq (invaded in 2003)
Iran
Little evidence to support
the US invasion
• Who funds terrorism?
Expatriates
Governments
Sympathizers
Financial globalization
makes it easy to move
money; technological
globalization makes it
easier to track it
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Fighting Terrorism
• Better protect likely
targets:
Increased airport
security
Protecting nuclear plants
City water systems
Major sports facilities
• Problems
Can everything be
protected?
Will the public stand for
it?
• Some anti-terrorist laws
violate civil liberties
Being held without charges
Wire taps
• To eliminate terrorism,
we have to eliminate its
causes:
Economically
Socially
Geopolitically
Environmentally
Religiously
Culturally
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Images
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