Globalisation & Terrorism Issues - Coursework Example

Globalization & Terrorism To start with, terrorism is all about committing atrocities and brutalities within a certain region or a country for that matter. It can also be sketched as a means of political violence against a fixed aggregate of population set out to achieve a particular goal. This goal can be a political, social, economic or ideological one. The same goal upon accomplishment can create a sense of fright and hatred within the community as well as in its suburbs, not to forget the people who are directly as well as indirectly affected by it. After the definition of terrorism has been drafted out, it is now our aim to find out how it affects the form of democracy within a region or a nation for that matter. Terrorism always stems up in the weakest of classes within a society. (Thackrah, 2004) Its infancy is thus bred and nourished in the lowest of classes within the culture. This weak class in a third world nation is in reality the masses. What people think about the form of government is really given an air of indifferent experiences when terrorism starts to crop up all of a sudden. This creates a feeling of hatred for the governmental institutions as well as the people at the helm of affairs, i.e., the ones who are generating the policies and are running the government. (Oots, 1986) Terrorism is contagious since it tries to directly communicate with the different sets of audiences in far flung areas of the world. Terrorism through the outlet of media channels and newspapers reaches out to people in a very threatening capacity. It explores the communicative abilities which globalization brings to the table and thus makes the whole phenomenon a very strenuous exercise to comprehend in the first place. The contagious nature of terrorism is scary since it presents a very gloomy picture of the world and offers a chance to discern that something better needs to be done by the media and the protagonists of the same to counter this threat in a head on capacity. It is a fact that terrorism demands of people to change their way of looking and expecting something, if they do for that matter, from the government. It has been the case for many years that whenever government within a certain country is in a position of economic and defense power, terrorism creeps up out of the blue and mesmerizes its democratic institutions beyond repair and restoration. The need of the hour on these countries’ part is to fight against the terrorist activities with a stern hand but in a more disciplined and ethical fashion. (Pieterse, 2004) If the same is not done, hatred is the most common of reactions that have been seen for time immemorial for these countries. Terrorism has changed the face of the world. The people of this world have started to feel unsafe whenever they are within a horde and thus different assumptions have started to come about as concerns to the basis of different congregations, events, concerts and so on and so forth. This has really presented a very grim picture of the peace aspect related with this world. It has to be changed and there needs to be thinking mindset shift within the global populace to start with. People need to understand their respective responsibilities and then echo the same in the light of the different policies and strategies drafted by governments of nations present on the global map. (Wanek, 1978) With the growing times, terrorism has adopted a face that is becoming more and more difficult to manage, so much so that the different governments and agencies are falling flat on their policies and lines of action. There are problems left, right and center as far as tackling the terror activities are concerned and this is one of the significant aspects that need discussion in detail. When one discusses the aspects of managing terrorist activities, he comes to the conclusion that it is not an easy task to start with. What this means is the fact that terrorist activities are unplanned and without a proper schedule. More than anything else, they can be carried out by anyone which forms the most fatal of opportunities for the terrorists all said and done. Even the most inhuman of individuals would think ten times before committing a terrorist activity, one that will surely shake the basis of a state and frustrate the people living within it. The psychological effects of the terrorist activities are something that must be addressed in the proper contexts and this becomes one of the most difficult things to attain in entirety. Quoting the example of the super power and the most powerful nation in the world, United States of America, it can be easily said that there are two known groups that are terrorizing its form of government – these are the Islamic quarters and the Christian identity within the community that is being supported wholeheartedly by almost 80 percent of the American nationals. America today is in a fix. Its government is marred by terrorist activities, both in and out of the country. As it is the most powerful nation of the world, thus handling the state of affairs of different countries also lies on its shoulders. (Celmer, 1987) It must be remembered here that this handling must be from a friendly stance, which aims to assist rather than being of a forceful and tyrant nature. It should in no way take over the mission of changing the government at a given time in a particular country. This is so very true for a nation like Iraq as well as many others where USA has made every effort possible to take control of their territories by sheer strength and might. The result of this force is that people, not only in the American colonies but also of the outside world, have started to have a sense of hatred for the US government and its policies. (Goering, 2004) This is apparent in the present times of American government whereby it had to take these steps due to some mistakes of their present as well as past regimes as well as different forms of terrorism that crept up every now and then within the US territories. Furthermore, international committees and organizations like the UNO (United Nations Organization), OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) and the like can really do a lot whenever a terrorist activity takes place in a country or for that matter within a certain region or territory. These committees can chalk out measures and plans which can be enforced on countries not living up to the expectations of them. (Kohler, 2003) For this, first and foremost step is to make the very same country or organization a member of the same committee. Without being a member, the country or the said party would not be entitled to follow the organization’s charter which is so very significant for the combating of terrorism. Terrorism must be stopped whilst it is in its infancy era. It cannot possibly be tackled while it has been at a certain place or region for quite a long time. It must be dealt with ethics and moral principles and virtuous values. (Tucker, 1997) Similarly media has played a very active and direct role in the changing terrorism regimes all over the world. This is because such news reports are always sold at a very swift rate and thus the ethical angle comes to the fore of one and all. Terrorism has been targeted as a very hot subject and the global nature of this problem makes it all the more important nonetheless. It has been an inadvertent ally in the wake of the terror acts as the propagation has been more than useful for the relevant quarters. It has conveyed the message of the terrorist camps more often than the other way round. There have been ethical mistakes committed by media which demand serious thought and purpose in essence. The media must realize its role and responsibility to counter any such measures which come in the wake of the terrorism comprehensions since they have a direct bearing on the way the people view life and the world in general. More often than not, we have seen improvements within the media hierarchies owing to the resurgence in terrorism and it is because of this very perspective of change that we see world bodies doing their utmost to reach out to far flung areas and explore hidden markets for the betterment of one and all. One needs to understand that globalization is not just a phenomenon, it is the science of human evolution and since man has for long held fast to this belief, there can be no reason as to why he should not decipher the basis of this phenomenon. (Roukis, 1983) It is a paradigm shift or a movement as we might call it, one that brings more stability within the ranks (where it is applied) and unison in the efforts and activities of all concerned. Realism can make the humanity realize the importance of having a grasp of the global regimes which are working day and night to make a difference, no matter in whichever capacity they are functional. (Aase, 2004) This suggests the fact that realism has a say or two in the global contexts and hence has a direct bearing on the subject of globalization so to speak. Realism brings to light the salient aspects related with world politics which directly or for that matter indirectly comes under the globalization module and thus a strong linkage is made apparent between the very two. Without a doubt, the world economy has grown in recent decades. (Vanin, 2005) So much so, that the pundits have said something good about it. International trade is something that is attributed to this upheaval. It has formed the motivating factor behind the very same. Developing countries have also stepped on to the bandwagon and are thus bringing in more and more opportunities for the developed nations to invest their money in their territories. (Lerch, 2005) Terrorism could be defeated by the media rationality since the role of media cannot be denied its due right in the time and age of today. Media has a role within the global regimes and the connection it has with the terrorism circles is also a significant consideration here. Globalization in line with media facilitates in playing its due part in the multiculturalism concept where the individuals within it have easy access to the cultural diversities of one another. There is a lot to learn and adapt in the wake of the same. (Slann, 1987) At times, the imported culture literally takes over the reigns and the basis of the local culture of the time within a place or region for that matter and this is a testament big enough to prove of the origins of globalization and the same playing its full effect in the related scheme of things. Terrorism within such regimes literally downplays the whole hearted efforts of the globalization led movements and thus the endeavors come to a standstill as a result. Then there is the travel and tourism concept which comes under the globalization regime and not to forget the immigration subjects which are discussed every now and then. (Wells, 1998) By having a global system in place which looks after the different countries sitting at a single location, the issue of illegal immigration within countries has also decreased as a result which is surely a positive sign. Terrorism does happen in the wake of illegal immigrants who come to different countries and more so US, UK and Canada in order to carry out terrorist activities which is a severe blow in the globalization led movements. (McLaren, 2001) In the end, we realize that terrorism is indeed more than a phenomenon. It is a problem that has changed the face of the earth and it will linger on for years to come. Before any other movement comes and strikes on the global face, we have to find out for ourselves what are the solutions related with this phenomenon and what more could be done in the related scheme of things. This also goes on to suggest that terrorism will remain as a strong force that can shape the world to change in entirety and resist on the other movements that happen from time to time. (Cooper, 2004) The downsides of terrorism and indeed the only aspect related with it need to be weighed in properly before we comment upon whether the countering steps are on the right track or otherwise. Having said all this, it is fathomed that terrorism is indeed a very difficult phenomenon to manage and it cannot be predicted for one reason or the other to happen at any point in time and any place of the world. (Berberoglu, 2005) Managing terrorism is like predicting on weather changes. It is such a difficult task to find out when and where the next terrorist activity will happen and who will be behind this very heinous act to state the least. All said and done, it is the responsibility of the respective governmental heads and ministries to use their state machinery and address this problem since terrorism cannot be taken for granted at any stage whatsoever. In the very concluding remarks it can be said that terrorism will linger on for as long as there is the basis of human population because if two brothers within the realms of a home cannot live happy and contented always, it is pretty difficult to make the same realization for seven billion people in the whole wide world. (Lutz, 2004) Bibliography AASE, Sara. (2004). Is Globalization a Powerful Force for Good or a Means of Exploitation? New World Order UMN News BERBEROGLU, Berch. (2005). Globalization and Change; The Transformation of Global Capitalism. Lexington Books CELMER, Marc A. (1987). Terrorism, US Strategy and Reagan Policies. Greenwood Press COOPER, Barry. (2004). New Political Religions, Or, an Analysis of Modern Terrorism. University of Missouri Press GOERING, John. (2004). Wars on Terrorism and Iraq: Human Rights, Unilateralism, and U.S. Foreign Policy. Routledge KOHLER, Horst. (2003). The Challenges of Globalization and the Role of the IMF. International Monetary Fund LERCH, Marika. (2005). Challenges of Globalization: New Trends in International Politics and Society. Transaction Publishers LUTZ, Brenda J. (2004). Global Terrorism. Routledge McLAREN, Peter. (2001). Teaching against Globalization and the New Imperialism: Toward a Revolutionary Pedagogy. Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 52 OOTS, Kent Layne. (1986). A Political Organization Approach to Transnational Terrorism. Greenwood Press PIETERSE, Jan Nederveen. (2004). Globalization or Empire? Routledge ROUKIS, George S. (1983). Managing Terrorism: Strategies for the Corporate Executive. Quorum Books SLANN, Martin. (1987). Multidimensional Terrorism. Lynne Rienner THACKRAH, John Richard. (2004). Dictionary of Terrorism. Routledge TUCKER, David. (1997). Skirmishes at the Edge of Empire: The United States and International Terrorism. Praeger Publishers VANIN, Cristina. (2005). Real Costs of Globalization. Catholic New Times WANEK, Marie G. (1978). International Terrorism in the Contemporary World. Greenwood Press WELLS, Louis T. (1998). Multinationals and the Developing Countries. Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 29 Word Count: 2,295 Read More