The History of State Terrorism - Article Example

The History of State Terrorism There is an often-quoted saying that everything changes except change itself. However, in a historical evaluation of state terrorism, one comes to recognize another crude reality of things, especially state terrorism, which corresponds to an important observation – “The more things change - the more things remain the same”. In fact, this is an essential concept to be realized through a historical evaluation of state terrorism. In a realistic exploration of the historical roots of terrorism, one realizes the importance of understanding the past to adequately prepare for the future. Through a historical perspective of terrorism, a student of evolution of terrorism recognizes the various essential aspects that make contemporary terrorism of today different from traditional terrorism of the past. Whereas the nature and means of terrorism has changed over the past centuries in the history, the results and effect of terrorism remain unchanged through different ages. When the history of state terrorism is explored in detail, one is reminded of the saying ‘The more things change - the more things remain the same’. It is common that terrorist party tends to appeal strongly to emotion when the state machinery is essentially rational. Similarly, the terrorist movement instills its politics with a powerful moral tone and a weak-versus-strong strategy reliant for the most part on its psychological impact on the adversary, where the state machinery operates on the basis of ‘realist’ policies and an understanding of the balance of power. “Today’s terrorism is what specialists call group or bottom-up-terrorism, but top-down (state) terrorism has been far more prevalent throughout history. It enjoyed its heyday in the twentieth century with the advent of totalitarianism. In terms of victims, top-down terrorism has taken a vastly higher toll than its bottom-up counterpart.” (Chaliand and Blin, 2007, p 6). Therefore, top-down or state terrorism has been a reality through various periods in the history of terrorism, though it is most treacherous and malicious in the twenty-first century. Although there have been several significant attempts to counter the threats of this terrorist tendency, including the Global War on Terrorism, the state of affairs with regard to state terrorism has not changed greatly. That is to say, a historical evaluation of state terrorism confirms the concept of the saying – ‘The more things change - the more things remain the same’. Whereas terrorism has a long history of its development and state terrorism has been in place for quite long centuries, not many talked about ‘state terrorism’ until very recently. That is to say, state terrorism was not given great importance until in recent times and a profound understanding of state terrorism is essential to realize the concept of the saying – ‘The more things change - the more things remain the same’. “State terrorism, as it is understood today, applies above all to the support provided by certain governments (Libya or Iran, for instance) to terrorist groups, but it takes many other forms. It is also a tool employed systematically by totalitarian regimes.” (Chaliand and Blin, 2007, p 7). Also, a state’s terrorism is a manifest in the military doctrine of its armed forces. For example, the doctrine of ‘strategic bombing’, which developed in the West in the 1930s, was based on the terror incited by the mass bombing of civilian populations to compel governments to surrender and this doctrine resulted in the bombing in Dresden and the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Significantly, there have been several important examples of state terrorism in the contemporary world which underlies the fact that state terrorism is a reality which is still at active work in the modern times. The recent example of Mugabe in Zimbabwe, who is not facing revolt but merely opposition, and the actions of his ‘war veterans’ against activists and supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change amounts to state terrorism. “Equally, in Israel/Palestine it is difficult to argue that the proportionality and collateral damages stipulations allow for the non-judicial assassination of leaders of the Palestine uprising or the destruction of Palestine homes and buildings. These actions surely belong to the category of state terrorism. Both actions are unsupportable, and it is difficult to imagine that lawful states could ever justify, legitimize, or use state terrorism to achieve peace.” (Hess and Martens, 2008, p 117). State terrorism is one of the most fundamental threats to the entire humanity in the twenty-first century and it has not changed its working over the years or centuries. Modern terrorism became common toward the end of the twentieth century as a result of the advances in technology, the development of new weapons, and the activities of various states in the contemporary global situations. State terrorism has had a historical evolution and growth and the present state of affairs has not changed drastically from the times it started. “In the period of the cold war and nuclear difference, the phenomenon of state-sponsored terrorism developed as an alternative to traditional warfare… While terrorism sponsored by states such as Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan decreased at the end of the twentieth century, other states, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, became more involved with terrorist groups.” (Shapira, Hammond, and Cole, 2008, p 16). Therefore, state terrorism has been in existence over a long period of time and its immensity has not decreased in spite of international efforts such as Global War on Terrorism. In conclusion, a historical evaluation of state terrorism confirms the concept of the saying – ‘The more things change - the more things remain the same’. References Chaliand, Gérard and Blin, Arnaud. (2007). The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda. University of California Press. p 6. Hess, Richard S. and Martens, E. A. (2008). War in the Bible and terrorism in the twenty-first century. EISENBRAUNS. p 117. Shapira, Shmuel C., Hammond, Jeffrey S. and Cole, Leonard A. (2008). Essentials of Terror Medicine. Springer. p 16. Read More