How Should the World Stop Terrorism - Assignment Example

How Should the world Stop Terrorism The term “Terrorism” is one of those few words that are difficult to define. However terrorism in all its forms is a threat to both domestic and international peace. Terrorism is a phenomenon that has posed as a threat to mankind for over two millenniums. But, in spite of such a long existence there is no perfect definition for the term. This non-existence of its definition cannot shroud the fact that terrorism has down the decades been a grave threat to both national and international security and peace. Several reasons for terrorism ranging from personal to political exists. It is almost impossible to pinpoint one single reason behind terrorist activities and this is evident of we analyze different terrorist activities that have occurred across the world. However the prime target of all such activities is the same i.e. to strike fear and establish superiority of power. Acts of terrorism has several negative repercussions on the existence of the victims. Sometimes these effects expand beyond borers and affect several systems together at once. The prime responsibility of security lies with U.N organizations such a Security of Council, however given to the growing rate at which terrorists have begun taking law into their own hands, there is increasing need for individual Governments to also take part in identifying terrorist activities and working towards eradication of terrorism. But it not the duty of the government alone to maintain peace, the role of civilians is also important when it comes to reducing terrorism in the world. The meaning of Terrorism If one simply focuses on the meaning of terrorism as printed in any thesaurus, it is simply the unethical and unconstitutional abuse of power or position to strike terror in the hearts and minds of others. However, given to the fact that terrorism is not constrained within the borders of one single state or nation, several definitions are employed to understand the legal meaning of the word. The U.S. code provides different definitions for both International Terrorism and Domestic Terrorism. 18 U.S.C. § 2331 categorizes those activities that involves violent or dangerous unlawful acts that harm human life or acts that are intended to coerce a civilian population, influence governmental policies or involves mass kidnapping and killing and that occur outside the U.S jurisdiction as International Terrorism. It categorizes activities of the same intensity but that take place within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States as domestic Terrorism (Federal bureau of Investigation, 2014). However, it is not necessary that this particular definition that features in the American code be accepted by other nations. In fact there are hundreds of definitions of the word however there exist no single definition that can entirely define the term and acquire international approval (Schmid, 2011,p39). Reasons for Terrorism Every act that one commits has an underlying reason. From acts of loving acts of giving and sharing to hateful acts of murder and rape, each and every move has a though linked to it. Therefore, it is but obvious that every act of terrorism has a motive and a reason behind it. Experts agree that there is more than just one reason for acts of terrorism especially since the term itself is multi-faceted in nature. Political Reason Politics is an indispensible part of human life. Politics and terrorism is intimately associated and most acts of terror are rooted in political discontent. Political ideologies or differences in ideologies are the prime causes. Time and again Nationalism has emerged as the major cause for terrorism. In most cases individuals join a certain terrorist organization because they are discontent with the particular government or societal organization and want to see change. This also happens when a particular government treats its citizens unjustly which automatically makes terrorism just. Political grievances also initiate citizens who develop a disliking for the present government to join terrorist groups. Ethno-Nationalism concept is another major causal factor. The concept explains terrorism as a desire of a certain population to break away from the present ruling and constitute a new nation of their own. Psychological Reason Psychology is the major driver behind different acts and terrorism is no exception. Psychology plays at the individual level as well as the group or sometimes even at the community level to trigger acts of terrorism. It is a myth that a terrorist is always a psychologically disabled person. It is the individual psychology that forms the very basis of terrorism since such frustrated individuals can be easily brain-washed and allured into terrorism. Individual motives maybe hunger for power for the down trodden. Some individuals succumb to revengeful thoughts while others may want a sense of significance. During an interview, John Horgan , an eminent psychologist who has interview over 150 terrorists explains that there is no particular profile for a terrorist. He explains that it is difficult to understand what kind of vulnerable psychology is most likely to engage in terrorism however Horgan is of the opinion that in most cases people become radicalized to certain kinds of thoughts and opinions (Horgan,2014). In psychological studies there exists numerous theories that explain violence and the same theories maybe associated with acts of terrorism as well. The most well known model is the Instinct theory which relates aggression as an inborn characteristic of humans which emerges on application of several factors such as depression and anger. Another major psychological theory that maybe associated with terrorism is the Frustration-Aggression theory. Under empirical scrutiny this interplay between aggression and frustration become a driving force behind violent acts (Borum , 2004, p11). Psychosocial Reasons Extensive research on reasons of terrorism has been conducted focusing especially on psychology and politics. Psychosocial reasons have been explored to a much lesser extent but nevertheless these reasons contribute significantly to terrorism as well. Social psychologists are of the opinion that social interactions have a profound effect on an individual’s psychology and this also applies to terrorists as well. For example prevailing social environment of an individual influences his joining a terrorist group. Some psychosocial effects such as depersonalization, social cohesion and bipolar worldview are effective in explaining the behaviour of a terrorist. In case of despersonalization, the terrorist identifies himself with the goals and objectives of his organization and hence receives motivation to work for his organization. Social cohesion within the terrorist groups is exemplary and this is primarily because they recognize each other as equal since they have identical goals which promotes a sense of brotherhood and initiates a positive relationship among the members of an organization. Bipolar world view refers to the prejudiced opinion of terrorists who consider that that their organization is the sole righteous path and that everything else in the world is wrong and needs to be destroyed (Carte, 2007). Economic Reasons Experts also believe that since economics influences just about everything in the world today, it must also influence terrorism in some way or the other. Emerging societies that are characterized by modernization are most likely to suffer from terrorism. Social stratification causes unequal distribution of important resources among people. This may instil feelings of frustration and anger which in turn acts as stimulus for violence orientation. Even though the terrorists themselves might not be subjected to abject poverty yet the anger against poverty might force them to join organizations who aim at eradicating poverty and making the living conditions of the citizens much better. While poverty maybe a causal factor the roots of terrorism is also found in unemployment and lack of opportunities. Young educated men who are often deprived from jobs and other opportunities become frustrated and turn against the government. These individuals become vulnerable and maybe misled to perform terror acts by leaders of terrorist organization (Gupta, 2004). Religious Reasons An underpinning and less highlighted reason for terrorism is religion. In the recent years people have come to believe that certain religions are more terror oriented than others. Even though this may not be completely true the fact that religious terrorism exists cannot be overlooked. Religion might not even play a major role when it comes to terrorism but it does play significant role. Terrorists who believe in such religious terror attacks are disoriented individuals whose faith have simply been sued by their leaders to fulfil their own shrewd goals that too under the tag of religion. A new Kind of Terrorism- Cyber Terrorism With the advent in the field of technology even terrorism has been stepped up. It needs to be noted that terrorists do not solely comprise of uneducated individuals but they also comprise of highly educated and intelligent individuals who have the ability to sue their intelligence in cyber-terrorism. Cyber-terrorism includes the use of the World Wide Web to cause large-scale disruption in networks. It may include illegitimate use of information and hacking of governmental and private websites as well. However just like the term terrorism cannot be explained, the term cyber-terrorism, to a great extent, does not have just one definition. The root of cyber-terrorism however is new and maybe tracked to the early 1990s when rapid growth of internet usage had been introduced (Weimann, 2004). The new terrorist organizations that we hear of today are highly funded organizations and are followed by technologically articulate supporters. The computer is the most deadly weapon of cyber terrorists. The powers of the internet are misused by terrorists to infiltrate into different confidential websites and extract secret information which may be associated with security measures any country. Impacts of Terrorist Activities No matter what the reason for terrorism is the impact is always negative. Terrorism has a very real and extremely direct impact and trespasses the basic human rights. It might harm people physically but also lead to mental and psychological problems. Terrorism also affects the economy and political organization of a nation under threat. The major direct consequence of terrorism is often death or physical threats to victims. Bomb blasts, firing, land mines and other hostile conditions poses a threat to the lives of civilians. Many people are debilitated physically and require medical attention. Thus immediately after an attack the Government bears the cost of such events (Frank, 2005). The political makeup of a country is disturbed thoroughly in case of terrorism. In some cases it may force the government to fall while in others it leads to dictatorship. However overall it is much difficult to predict the exact effect on politics since it varies from one country to another and from one form of terrorism to another form. Terrorism not only has profound effect on political structure but also on the political future of the country where the election results of any country depends on the faith and trust that the citizens have on their leader (Williams and Smith, 2012). Transnational terrorism affects international relation. When country is struck by terrorist of another country it creates a sort of rift between the political harmony between both the countries. For example the 9/11 attacks changes the relation between America and the Middle East. One of major impacts is psychological and emotional. Even though it is not necessary that someone who experiences violence or is witness to terror will develop psychological instability or emotional problems it highly possible that the event will leave an indelible impression on the minds of the people (Curran and Miller, 2001).Studies have shown terrorist attacks have profound effect on communities even if they are at a distance from the terrorism site. Even though most of the effects maybe short lived a small percentage of population suffers from prolonged clinical and sub-clinical depression or fear associated with terrorism (Whalley, 2007). Children are the worst sufferer of terrorist attacks since a child’s mind is most vulnerable. Scarring a child’s mind during his growing years leaves a profound impact on the child’s upbringing and development. According to the American psychological Association (APA), almost 40% of children exposed to terrorism and violence develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) which can persist even after 15 years after the initial exposure (American psychological association, 2014). APA reports that after the 11/9 attacks 75,000 children between the age group of 4-12 years were suffering from PSTD. Exposure to terrorism may affect the child’s consciousness, elevate grief and depression, instil fear and anxiety, change behavioural patterns and result in several other negative consequences. Besides psychological impacts the worst sufferer is the economy of a region. A terror attack has both primary and secondary impacts which ultimately results in an overall economic impact. Primary Impact which includes loss of lives, destruction of structures and objects is the direct economical aftermath however the secondary impact that follows the primary impact is much more debilitating to the economy since it expands over a wide array of subject matters. Terrorism destroys the tourism industry. Terrorism in a country scares away the tourists and eventually leads to loss in incoming foreign exchange. When a country is hit by terrorism or frequent terror attacks, people change their opinion about the country’s beauty or charm because of the lack of safety. Terrorism also leads to loss of foreign investment. Foreign investment is a very important source of funding especially for the developing or the under-developed countries. Foreign countries show interest in such countries to establish trade while the host country receives funding which enhances its gross domestic product and increases employment opportunities as well. However, no foreign country would invest in a country which is afflicted by terrorism simply because of the lack of safety and continuous fear of destruction of proposed project. Terrorism also destroys economic sectors such as foreign exchange, stock markets, foreign trade which ultimately hampers the economy of the terrorised nation. Another major economical impact of terrorism is the expenditure on defence and homeland security measures. Attacks of terror simply highlights the dearth in security measures and the aftermath of terror events includes a high expenditure in overcoming the drawbacks in security measure and stepping up all forms of safety. This not only call for more funding for man power but also means more expenditure for automated or modern safety devices such as metal detectors, bomb detectors, bullet-proof clothes etc. Moreover this also means tighter and special training for the army and the home guards who need to be trained to handle terror attacks. Organizing such trainings also requires funding. Societal impact is perhaps the most direct impact of any terrorist activity. In fact social impact is interlinked with economic impact. Some of the most common societal changes that we see other than minor demographic impact include unemployment, loss of sense of security and loss of faith in societal policies. Post a terrorist attack people tend to lose the sense of security. In Israel, for example, a survey concluded that 805 of the citizens d that a terrorist attack on them or their relatives were plausible (Morag, 2006). This shows that a terrorist strike can annihilate the belief that one is safe in one’s own homeland. How we can stop it Terrorism did not emerge in one day nor are terrorists plans designed overnight neither are people like you and me converted into terrorists in just one single day and therefore we cannot eradicate terrorism over night. But that does not mean that we can stop terrorism at all. It will take a load of patience, hard work, vigilance to bring terrorism to an end. The responsibility of public security lies with the Security of Council of the U.N. and also with individual governments. All nations have different counter-terrorism organizations which are constituted as intelligence organization which keep track of terrorists groups, terrorist activities and movement of members of such organizations. For example in the United States the Bureau of Counter-terrorism along with multi-lateral organizations such as National Counterterrorism Centre is entrusted with the responsibility to detect terrorist intentions and foil them for security and protection of civilians. The government already works upon making terrorism costly by striking at the base of terrorism, assassinating leaders and causing failure of such organization. The government needs to further strengthen laws against terrorists and seek punishment as soon as possible for suspected individuals. At the individual level, it is possible to stay alert and vigilant. As individuals we can help the government fight terrorism by being wary of things that happen around us and report suspicious acts. It is equally important for us to know about evolving threats. Getting citizens involved in counter-acting terrorism will step-up security measures. Besides being vigilant about terrorism activities the government also needs to increase funding for public health concerned with the victims of terrorist attacks. Conclusion Terrorism has always existed in history and continues to exist even today. It is not possible to define terrorism accurately since a single definition cannot suffice and cover the several aspects of terrorism. We have seen that terrorism is caused by several factors-political, psychological and economical, however the consequences of terrorism does not differ by much since it always has a negative impacts on the minds of the people and affects the overall organizational structure of the nation or the state. Since cyber-terrorism is also on the increase today, the Government needs to secure their systems with the help of experts such that confidential information is not leaked. Today, we have several organizations that work against terrorism. Several nations join have joined hands to co-operate and lend protection against terrorism however, terrorism needs to be fought against at all level starting from you and me. Citizens in all states and in all nations need to understand the need for vigilance and wariness. It is true that terrorism that posing a fight against terrorism is hard but it is not always impossible. References Borum,R.”Psychology of Terrorism.”2004.Tampa: university of South Florida.Print. Carte,L.” Explaining Terrorism: A Psychosocial Approach.”Perspective on Terrorism,1 (2).Retrieved from http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/8/html. Curran,P.S. and Miller,P.W. “Psychiatric implications of chronic civilian strife or war: Northern Ireland. “Adv Psychiatr Treatment. 2001;7:73–80. Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Definitions of Terrorism in the U.S. Code.” 2014. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism/terrorism-definition. Frank,E.” Funding the public health response to terrorism.”BMJ, 331 (7516), 526-527. Gupta,D.K.”Exploring roots of Terrorism. Tore Bjørgo (ed.)” Root Causes of Terrorism. 2004. London: Routledge . Horgan,J”Speaking of Pschology: Getting into a terrorist’s mind.” American Psychological association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/terrorist-mind.aspx. Morag,N.”T he Economic and Social Effects of Intensive Terrorism: Israel 2000-2004.’ Global research In International Affairs,2006. http://www.gloria-center.org/2006/09/morag-2006-09-09/#_edn31 Schmid,A.P.”The Routledge handbook of Terrorism research.”2011. New York: Routledge. Weimann,G.”Cyber Terrorism.”United States of Peace Special report, 2004, 119:1-9 Retrieved from http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/sr119.pdf Williams,L.K. and Smith,J. “The Political Consequences of Terrorism:Terror Events, Casualties, and Government Duration.”International Studies Perspectives.2012, 1-19. Retrieved from http://web.missouri.edu/~williamslaro/Williams,%20Koch%20and%20Smith%202012.pdf Whalley,G.” Mental health Following Terrorist Attacks,” The British journal of Psychiatry. 2007, 190: 94-97. Retrieved from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/190/2/94.full Read More