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Terror and Terrorism

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Terror and Terrorism

Terrorism as a General Phenomenon

The context of modern realities designates terrorism as a complex socio-political

phenomenon whose effects amount to a threat to global security because its activities are

primarily associated with crime that is characteristic of international danger. Therefore, the

concept of terrorism is transnational. The legal foundation for its definition is to pool

numerous criminal activities geared towards the disruption of foundations of public order and

security into this category. The lack of an elaborate universal definition of terrorism does not

negate the need to input counteractions against this threat. As such, one description that can

serve most purposes includes the use or threat to use violence illegally, harboring an intention

to deliberately coerce a state through the infliction of fear in its citizens, harboring political

ideologies that are queer or contested to the societal norms. Ultimately, terrorism can happen

within a society, as "domestic" or externally as international terrorism.

Taking counter-terrorism practices is an independent discretion of each government,

leading to unintentional abuse of human rights or even conscious abuse using the concept.

The UN security council outlines a raft of international sanctions through resolution 1267 for

member states to define entities and persons who fit the description of terrorists.

Consequently, considering the global nature of terror, states must participate and implement

sanctions to maintain international peace and security. Furthermore, the UN security council's

resolution 1368 characterizes a list of crimes of terrorist orientation with the activities and the

respective punishment for their perpetration. Hence, the security council mandates the states

to justice all perpetrators, sponsors, and organizers, and financiers of terrorist activities within

their territories. Equally, the international community operates under binding treaties, which

lay a basis for international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Until September 11, 2001, terrorism was an idea that did not grasp the prominence and

consciousness of many nations. The events triggered a paradigm towards a scientific

understanding of terror and policy development for controlling terrorist activities. In crafting

measures to curb terrorism, it is essential to understand that it is an inconspicuous thing that

manifests in various dimensions through a combination of activities. Terrorism is a negative

social phenomenon despite regulating criminal legislation that captures the elements of a

crime. Unlawful acts of violence or intimidation against a population, training to perpetrate

terrorist activities, organizing or participating in activities for a terrorist group constitutes a

legal and social phenomenon that are separate elements of the crimes that constitute

terrorism.

Primary Motivations of Terrorism

Motivations for terrorism are both psychological and strategic. Radical ideas contribute

to creating the rationale for choosing terrorism as a course of action from several identified

preferences of achieving political objectives (Crenshaw, 2007). Rationality enables a group to

develop a standard from which to measure deviations. The ability to calculate or at least

approximate the likely consequences of the course of action is essential. However, outcomes

are varied and unpredictable; hence miscalculations are unavoidable. Analyzing terrorism is

never adequate without digging into specific activities of terror organizations and the

motivation to support the vice. The objectives of the organizations or groups that sponsor or

support terror activities are representative of a common good. At the same time, it portends a

common bad for the victims of their actions. Terrorism has many demands, which may not

include the primary reason for engaging in terrorist activities. The causes are usually different

from the reasons for taking part in terror activities. Perpetrators of terror usually have short-

term and long-term motivations. Therefore, regions that suffer terrorist threats tend to

associate economic, cultural, and political undercurrents hinged on their relationship with the
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Western world. A more precise description of their grievances points to economic and

cultural infiltration occasioned by globalization, with most of its ideologies singling out the

imposition of economic policies of the western world against their conventional practices.

Extremists would typically seek a radical change to the status quo when they perceive

to gain a new advantage or in defense of the privileges they feel threatened. The demands

result in the displacement of the political elite akin to political dissidents. The reasons given

by the practitioners of terrorism include the lack of alternatives choices to resolve conflict

except for terrorism. For instance, a failure of other methods of conflict resolution by non-

violent movements in Russia gave rise to terror groups. The Ireland terrorism was a result of

a failed constitutional consensus. Equally, the Palestinian- Israeli conflict resulted from the

failed attempts by Arabs at conventional war with Israel. Therefore, terrorism becomes a

reasonably informed choice among the available alternatives while others learn through

contagion from actions of other terror groups. The existence of a rebellious potential is reason

enough to resort to engaging in terrorism. Therefore, terrorism is a reserve of smaller groups

that lack resources to match the incumbent regime. Thus the observation that terrorism is a

weapon of the weak is accurate because they lack the numbers and military prowess.

Preferences of the majority of the population could differ with the extreme political

ideologies of the resisters hence elicit limited appeal. An example of such disparity includes

the choice of socialism to capitalism, as was the case for the Red Army in West Germany,

whose promises were vague and excessively distasteful.

Another motivation for terrorism is the failure to mobilize support for mass

organizational work. The die-hard followers may lack relevant skills, and even their

compensation may not be commensurate with their efforts. Mobilization of masses is

necessary when there is widespread dissatisfaction; hence the organizers may use this

attribute to conscript conspiracies that can help recruit the groups. The rewards for
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membership in such groups are not immediate; thus, the high costs of operating with limited

resources become a challenge. The choice, for instance, to use a discreet underground

organization or opt to work with the people using propaganda through organized networks

was a reason for the disintegration of the Italian left-wing groups Red Brigades and the Prima

Linea. Russia's socialist revolutionary party entrusted a legal political to do their terrorist

campaign for the Combat Organization. Similarly, in Ireland, the IRA uses Sinn Fein.

Dissident organizations operating in repressive states often standing up to the

oppressive regime may earn the label of a terrorist group. Censorship and negative sanctions

may force the organization to go underground for fear of reprisals from the authorities.

Widespread dissatisfaction grows when active expression diminishes. Challengers to these

regimes and their sympathizers resort to terrorism. Impediments to strategic thinking in such

organizations include competition from rivals, demands from followers, and the leaders'

personality. Impatience and eagerness to action to compensate for its inferiority and a change

to the structure of the prevailing situation are reasons to alter the balance of resources tilting

the ratio of strengths between the two sides.

A regime that is morally or politically vulnerable will increase the likelihood of

increasing popular support for terrorists. For example, a repressive government attracts a

moral backlash by deterring dissent. An unjust government will motivate opposition, and this

will lay fertile ground for extremist organizations to exploit the upsurge in public outrage.

Heightened awareness of injustice creates a change in public attitudes. When a regime's

legitimacy diminishes, rebels are encouraged to risk repression, considering they will face no

external disapproval. Acquiring new resources changes the dynamics in favor of the

challenger to the incumbent regime. Financial help for terrorist activities can accrue through

various means, including an alliance with foreign sympathizers, other revolutionary groups,

or even through criminal activities such as kidnapping for ransom. The disruptive potential of
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terrorists is enabled by technology and advances in technology, communication, and

sophistication in weaponry. Strategic innovation through technology transfer can exploit

weaknesses in a regime to the advantage of terrorists, like using the one-shot sniper by the

IRA.

Successes

The term "terror" traced its origin in the French revolution when revolutionaries

instilled fear by chopping off the heads of their oppressors to instill fear. Since then, the term

is used to define the acts of revolutionaries and their adversaries. Therefore, the term terror is

not applicable in a revolutionary war of liberation, although revolutions give rise to terror,

just as happened in France or Russia. Therefore, a revolution intends to overthrow an

oppressive regime rather than instill fear using force as freedom fighters are armed to force

tyrants out of power. The Irgun underground fighters were branded a terrorist organization by

the regime they sought to root out (Begin, 2021). The purpose of their struggle was to free

their people from fear of attack on the Jews and the statelessness of the Eretz Israelis. Borne

out of natural emotions, the Irgun revolt took the characteristics of political logic and

common sense, which enabled the group to lay effective strategies that brought them victory.

The French's continued atrocities in Algeria and the refusal to allow reform led to a

silent rebellion. The locals were oppressed by the constant curfews, searches, and daily

interruptions of their daily lives. At the same time, the Europeans lived in tranquil places,

going about their everyday lives in luxury. FLN recruited young Muslim girls to avenge

Muslim deaths (Tachikawa, 2017). Most of the bombs detonated successfully, and the

killings that followed entailed torture of the victims such as Ben M'hidi.

Failures
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Despite the Tamil insurgency, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) employing

suicide attacks for over two decades. They lacked a clear mission in their liberation struggle

in Sri Lanka (Lewis, 2021). The retrogressive passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Act

gave rise to retrogressive purges by the government and allowed the army and police to hold

prisoners incommunicado for long periods, stripping citizens of their rights. Prohibitions

against arbitrary arrests and killings weakened. The LTTE felt that the government was

complicit in the attacks and annihilation of the Tamil population. The government fiercely

opposed the ideology of separatism. Harsh restrictions were imposed on the Tamil people,

with many unreported disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The LTTE employed a

predatory rationalization strategy where the group eliminated competition from other Tamil

militants. Public executions of their perceived traitors did intimidation of the general Tamil

population. Using cyanide was a deterrence to the betrayal of the LTTE members. Hence

members could hang it around their neck as a constant reminder of their commitment to the

group. Prabhakaran inspired a movement through intimidation and fear to assume control, but

he was killed when the LTTE was defeated militarily by the Sri Lankan forces.

Global Terror

The ideologies of Abdallah Azam inspired the rise of Al Qaeda, an organization that

transcended other global terror networks. His perspectives on Islamic spiritualism and war

were not famous for most adherents whom he, together with Osama Bin Laden, recruited

youths into training camps for Jihad (Hegghammer, 2021). Al Qaeda was formed based on

three factors. The Afghan Arabs needed high-quality military training, especially towards the

mid-1980s. The failure of the moderate center to provide this demand led Bin Laden to set up

a military facility with the support of like-minded adherents. The battle of Jaji, which granted

the jihadists victory, motivated them and galvanized their team. The process of running the

al-Masada camp, complete with an organizational structure, inspired Bin Laden to formalize
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systems. The leadership of Al Qaeda had indications of using urban warfare and terrorist

tactics beyond Afghanistan as illustrated by the redaction of the encyclopedia of Jihad to

include the use of non-conventional war tactics such as assassinations, abduction, use of

remotely detonated bombs, and poisoning. Bin Laden and Azzam (Saudis) teaming up with

Al-Zawahiri, an Eqyptian Islamic Jihadist and Afghan Arab mujahideen, were responsible

partly for rooting out the soviet Union from Afghanistan, albeit using non-conventional

methods.

Youth Radicalization

Global radicalization typically involves partaking of a group's activities, like

perpetrating attacks or preparing to perpetrate one once one joins a terrorist sanctuary.

Understanding the motivation for radicalization helps to understand the endemic problem.

Patterns of radicalization are not specific, and hence resentment and frustration against

society form part of the psychological reason for participating in terrorism. Al Qaeda and

ISIS have created a narrative of heroism through personal restructuration in salvation and

brotherhood in arms (Roy, 2015). Nihilism prominently overshadows the need to build a just

society. Recently, radicalization has taken root in Europe in the form of the second generation

of Muslims without common sociological backgrounds. In France, for example, the larger

migrant population constitutes the largest group of radicals. Most people who participate in

extremist ideologies have a past of delinquency and drug use.

After a personal crisis, religion becomes a precursor to political radicalization upon

conversion. Most youth joining the radical movements in Europe are doing so to discredit

their parents, who disapprove of their behavior. Peer influence contributes to youth

radicalization through associations created from the internet, recreational spots, and

neighborhoods. Most of these youth have no history of militancy, political or religious

associations, and never pillars of Muslim congregations. The proportions of converts have

risen tremendously, which is representative of a frustrated Muslim population. The ideology

used to win converts is based on an abstract notion of global brotherhood whose motive is to

avenge the Muslim ummah.

Interestingly, this umma has no relationship with national causes such as Palestine,

Syria, and Iraq. Most radicals have a Muslim religious heritage for the Salafi version of Islam

with no objective process of religious education; hence their spiritual knowledge is low.

Radicals in Europe have no connection with Muslims. Fighting radicalization in Europe will

entail debunking the narrative of heroism against the backdrop of ISIS to make Islam appear

as conventional religion.
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References

Crenshaw, M. (2007). The logic of terrorism. Terrorism in perspective, 24, 24-33.

Begin, M. (2021). The Revolt: We fight therefore we are. Retrieved 28 April 2021, from.

Lewis, J. (2021). The Business of Martyrdom: A History of Suicide Bombing.

Hegghammer, T. (2021). The caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad.

Roy, O. (2015). International Terrorism: How can prevention and repression keep pace?.

Tachikawa, K. (2017). The Algerian War: A Model for Counterinsurgency

Operation. Irregular Warfare in Historical Perspectives, 69-70.