The Issue of Terrorism in the World - Annotated Bibliography Example

Running header: Annotated bibliography Student’s name: Instructor’s name Subject code: Date of submission: Global terrorism annotated bibliography Many authors have defined terrorism as using violence and intimidation in ones pursuit of political claims as well as international recognition. Almost all the nations of the world have and continue to experience terrorism on an ever increasing scale hence the term global terrorism. It is to be noted that the last decade of the 20th century and the 21st century have been dominated by terror and terrorists. Though the preeminent face has been Al-Qaida especially before the death of its leader Osama bin Laden, it is to be noted that no single group has been responsible. Several terror groups have organized themselves sophistically to wreck terror to innocent victims all over the world. Such groups include the al-Qaida, the ISIS, the Taliban, alShabaab among other groups that terrorize various regions of the world. This means that although various measures have been put in place to counter terrorism in the various nations of the world, countering terror continues to be a major challenge to governments all over the world. In an attempt to unearthing the terrorism myth, religion has not been spared either as some have blamed it for terrorism. As such, there is need for change of strategy in countering terrorism both at national and international level with most people calling for greater cooperation at the international level saying that terrorism can never be worn singlehandedly as it affects every nation of the world. The following is an annotated bibliography aimed at evaluating the issue of terrorism in the world. It looks at what many authors blame for terrorism and the steps they suggest to be employed in countering terror. David, O2006, Countering international terrorism: The use of strategy, Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 107-116. The article underscores the need to change strategy if the war on terror is to be worn. The article is written in response to the then attacks in London and Bali. The author recognizes that following the attacks, the real and perceived danger associated with spreading of international terrorism has heightened. As such, the author states that the stakes have increased for the governments since it means that expectations by common citizens on their security and safety have risen despite the fact that there is no international agreement on a counterterrorism strategy that is comprehensive and long-term. This he terms as the main weakness in nations collective efforts geared towards countering the threat. As such, he terms countering the threat as well as society’s exposure as vital national priority for any country. In this regard, he suggests that government employ strategic planning both at national and international front in a bid to reduce the level of threat to citizens while engendering public confidence that the government is able to effectively counter terrorism. In this regard, governments should systematically identify both desirable and undesirable ends while helping the stakeholders agree on the strategic campaigns necessary for carrying them out. This way, the war on terror can be worn. Fauzan, S, Mustafa, R, Haris, Z, Salman, M&, Shaheer, A2012, Tackling terrorism in Pakistan, International Journal of Peace and Development Studies, vol. 3, no.1, pp.1-5 This article recognizes that terrorism has evolved to become a nuisance for all people and nations of the world especially given the fact that terrorists have adopted several strategies including committing suicide attacks on innocent people. As such, the author states such phenomenon as suicide bombings cannot be handled forcefully. this is because such people who are much motivated to the point of not being afraid to die could end up causing mass destruction if the situation is handled forcefully. As such, the article discusses possibilities that authorities and those concerned could apply in reducing such threats to the lowest point possible. Such strategies could range from prevention, detection, prevention and reducing loss of innocent lives. The author also gives suggestions on how resultant chaos can be mitigated to the lowest point possible. It should be noted that the article is written in the context of Pakistan. In addition, the paper also looks at the ethic rifts in Karachi that pose a threat of explosive situations due to terrorist activities. Nabil, F2014, Terrorism is the world’s problem, Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, vol. 16, pp. 157-167. The article looks at the state of safety in the world after the September 11 attack in the United States. This not only includes America but also the rest of the world. The Author states that terrorism is not an American problem but rather the world’s problem. In other words, terrorism is not a reserve of a single country according to the article. As such, tackling the problem calls for responding to international politics as opposed to the politics of a single country. In this regard, the author states that though America is a super power with global interests, Americans ought to understand that tackling terrorism calls for global efforts as opposed to addressing it only from the American politics perspective only. According to the author, the war against terror will only be successful if all nations unite to fight the vice as opposed to each nation fighting terrorism on its own. According to the author, terrorism is a global problem which existed even before the September 11 attacks and hence the need to change tact in addressing it. Valentina, T2010, U.S. Response to Terrorism: A Strategic Analysis of the Afghanistan Campaign, Journal of Strategic Security, vol.2, no. 2, pp. 27-38. The Author looks at how the US has responded to global terrorism as well as its anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan since the September 11 attack in 2001 to date. He aims to unearthed and hence understand the misunderstandings, fallacies and missteps of its approach in the fight against terror in Afghanistan. The author has also evaluated the lessons learnt from the US action against terror as well as possible strategies that could be used in the achievement of long-term security and stability in Afghanistan. The author states that despite defeating the Taliban at first, the approach was initially focused on the terrorist only but lacked long-term planning leading to emergence of insurgent movement against the presence of US army in Afghanistan. This called for a change in strategy shifting focus to the population, governmental and local support. According to the author, this resulted in positive results between 2003 and 2005. However, the author recognizes that the situation did deteriorate with casualties increasing with both Al-Qaida and Taliban gathering strength. Though new troops were deployed to Afghanistan, the Author notes that Afghanistan is not stable yet hence implying how difficult fighting terror is. Khusrav, G, Todd, S&, Charlida, S2012, Assessing the evolving threat of terrorism, Global policy, vol.3, no. 2, pp. 135-144. In this article, the intention of the author is to show that acts of domestic terror pose as much greater threat to the peace and security. This is because the war on terror has since the September 11 attack exclusively focused on transnational terrorism. As such, the Authors state that the focus on terror ought to be reconsidered since based on research, acts of domestic terror always spill into international and transnational terrorism. In this regard, the article blames dominance of religious fundamentalist terrorists as well as homeland security for making the hardest to defend targets as well as private parties as the targets of choice for terrorists since the year 1999. The authors also claim that of late, terrorists increasingly favor attacking innocent populations as opposed to property. Given that terrorism has murdered thousands of people globally, the article claims that it poses a supreme collective action problem for the entire global community. As such, the Authors argue that fight against terrorism should not just be transnational but also domestic since domestic terrorism has greater threat to both life and property as well as the fact that domestic terrorism will always spill over to international front since domestic terrorists will always seek greater recognition. Apple, R2002, “Religion as an agent of conflict transformation and peace building” in Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict, Washington, DC: USIP Press. In this article, the author sees it as a fallacy that religion has resulted not only to intolerance, violation of human rights as well as extremist violations. He sees religion as a source of nonviolent conflict transformation, promotion of human rights, stability and reconciliation of divided societies and a source of integrity in governments. His focus is on the religions potential role in peace building which incorporates a variety of i9nitiatives including conflict prevention and management, transforming conflicts by way of mediation, implementing of negotiated settlements as well as the long-term rebuilding of democratic institutions and civil societies. He reviews several cases including the organization of the Islamic conference of Afghanistan, South Africa Truth and Reconciliation commission and Cambodia’s NGO’s as well as Mozambique’s SantEdigo. Contrally to the belief that religious actors fuel terrorism, the author says they have played a great role in facilitation of peace process and mediation when they act independently from state. However, he sees their success in this role as being dependent on the benefits of diplomatic, technical and political support from governmental as well as intergovernmental authorities. As such, the author beliefs that religion can play a major role in countering terrorism globally. Nigel, D2013, Preventive counter-terrorism and International law, Journal of Conflict & Security, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 181-192. In this article, Nigel states that it is important that counterterrorism has to have a strong preventive element so that it can stop attacks long before they are launched hence reducing the effects of terrorism as well as the terror caused. However, such preventive measures have to be in line with local and international law. The article therefore looks at counterterrorism as well as two legal regimes that are central to it though they are seen to be in opposition to human rights and collective security. As far as collective security is concerned, the authors state that the UN charter has strong preventive elements requiring the Security Council to address situations likely to endanger peace though such preventive enforcements have potential of overriding human rights. As such, the concept of public safety, human rights and counterterrorism measures are examined in details in this paper. States and the United Nations Security Council therefore have to find a balance between counter terrorism and human rights if their counterterrorism efforts are to be effective according to the authors. Benjamin, D&, Steven, S2002, The age of sacred terror, New York, Random House Publishers. The authors of this book are former members of United States National Security Council and were triggered by the rising threat of Al-Qaida. The book was written a year before the September 11 attack and is aimed at being a descriptive warning on new terrorism. The book also analyses cases that include religious beliefs that call for followers to commit violence as well as circumstances that lead to such acts. The book has also added sections on what the US government was doing in combating terror as well as the authors views on how America let down its defenses and how vital governmental institutions failed in important tasks. The authors have made a number of observations on the challenges ahead. For instance, the authors observe that the enemy turned assets such as the planes and the open society against the nation. Thus they warn against underestimating the enemy since terrorists have extraordinary abilities in detecting weaknesses and exploiting them. Finally, they observe that terrorists with a determination of inflicting catastrophic damage will not be deterred unless all the organs concerned remain alert.is Block, S1999, New Terror: Facing the threat of biological and chemical weapons, Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution The article looks at the threat posed through developing and use of biological weapons commonly called biological terrorism. Six classes of genetically engineered biological weapons have been identified. These includes binary biological weapons which combine two parts which only become toxic when combined, designer genes and life forms, gene therapy which carry transforming viruses. Others include stealth viruses which are infections able to reside for long periods without being detected before becoming lethal, host swapping infections and designer diseases that draw on naturally programmed cell death. The author in his conclusion remarks has identified multiple challenges that are encountered in a bid to cope with emerging generations of pathogens. According to the article, such challenges include screening, mitigation, identification and classification, education and remediation. As such, the author cites the emergence of biological weapons as a new form of terror as one of the issues that continue to make the war against terror more difficult. As such, there is need for all those involved in the fight against terror to devise ways through which such emerging issues in terror can be tackled if the war is to be worn. James, F2014, Countering the al-Shabaab Insurgency in Somalia: Lessons for U.S Special Operations Forces, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, The JSOU Press. The report argues that the current prospects of the al-Shabaab are at their lowest point ever. The report thus provides a meaningful context to the al-Shabaab and their Somali milieu. The report notes that the terrorist group has been pushed from all their major strongholds through a robust internatio0nal effort. In addition, their violent salafism has not helped but alienate many of the locals. Despite this, the Authors acknowledge that the terrorist group still has teeth because it has continued to unleash terror against ordinary Somali citizens as well as the coalition forces using improvised terror devices, suicide bombers as well as assassinations. The group’s tactics according to the authors have been informed by strategic decisions made by the group’s top leaders to wage guerilla war which is a role that is familiar for the group which thrived in the mid-2000s through waging an anti-Ethiopia insurgency. As such, the authors term the report as a useful resource for people who would want to know more about the terror conflict waged by the group in the Horn of Africa. Conclusion This bibliography has looked at the contribution of different authors to the issue of countering global terrorism. The authors are all in agreement that terrorism is undesired and it remains one of the greatest challenges for nations across the world as it is a major threat to public safety and security. While some have blamed religion for extremism and hence possible cause of terror, they also call for responsible religion as a key to tackling terrorism. There is an agreement that terrorism need to be fought both at domestic and international front if the war has to be one. However, different authors have called for change of tact to better strategies that can help combat terrorism. For instance, most authors seem to agree on the need for various nations to be more cooperative in their efforts to fight terror if the war is to be worn. According to the authors, the war on terror will not be worn singlehandedly but nations will have to unite in their efforts towards overcoming terrorism. Emerging techniques that are being employed by terrorist groups such as biological terrorism and suicide bombings have been discussed in the annotated bibliography. It has been agreed that such challenges continue to complicate the war on terrorism. Hence, there is need for all stakeholders to be more tactical in their efforts geared towards fighting terrorism. References: David, O2006, Countering international terrorism: The use of strategy, Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 107-116. Fauzan, S, Mustafa, R, Haris, Z, Salman, M&, Shaheer, A2012, Tackling terrorism in Pakistan, International Journal of Peace and Development Studies, vol. 3, no.1, pp.1-5 Nabil, F2014, Terrorism is the world’s problem, Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, vol. 16, pp. 157-167. Valentina, T2010, U.S. Response to Terrorism: A Strategic Analysis of the Afghanistan Campaign, Journal of Strategic Security, vol.2, no. 2, pp. 27-38. Khusrav, G, Todd, S&, Charlida, S2012, Assessing the evolving threat of terrorism, Global policy, vol.3, no. 2, pp. 135-144. Apple, R2002, “Religion as an agent of conflict transformation and peace building” in Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict, Washington, DC: USIP Press. Nigel, D2013, Preventive counter-terrorism and International law, Journal of Conflict & Security, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 181-192 Benjamin, D&, Steven, S2002, The age of sacred terror, New York, Random House Publishers. Block, S1999, New Terror: Facing the threat of biological and chemical weapons, Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution James, F2014, Countering the al-Shabaab Insurgency in Somalia: Lessons for U.S Special Operations Forces, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, The JSOU Press. Read More

This way, the war on terror can be worn. Fauzan, S, Mustafa, R, Haris, Z, Salman, M&, Shaheer, A2012, Tackling terrorism in Pakistan, International Journal of Peace and Development Studies, vol. 3, no.1, pp.1-5 This article recognizes that terrorism has evolved to become a nuisance for all people and nations of the world especially given the fact that terrorists have adopted several strategies including committing suicide attacks on innocent people. As such, the author states such phenomenon as suicide bombings cannot be handled forcefully.

this is because such people who are much motivated to the point of not being afraid to die could end up causing mass destruction if the situation is handled forcefully. As such, the article discusses possibilities that authorities and those concerned could apply in reducing such threats to the lowest point possible. Such strategies could range from prevention, detection, prevention and reducing loss of innocent lives. The author also gives suggestions on how resultant chaos can be mitigated to the lowest point possible.

It should be noted that the article is written in the context of Pakistan. In addition, the paper also looks at the ethic rifts in Karachi that pose a threat of explosive situations due to terrorist activities. Nabil, F2014, Terrorism is the world’s problem, Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, vol. 16, pp. 157-167. The article looks at the state of safety in the world after the September 11 attack in the United States. This not only includes America but also the rest of the world.

The Author states that terrorism is not an American problem but rather the world’s problem. In other words, terrorism is not a reserve of a single country according to the article. As such, tackling the problem calls for responding to international politics as opposed to the politics of a single country. In this regard, the author states that though America is a super power with global interests, Americans ought to understand that tackling terrorism calls for global efforts as opposed to addressing it only from the American politics perspective only.

According to the author, the war against terror will only be successful if all nations unite to fight the vice as opposed to each nation fighting terrorism on its own. According to the author, terrorism is a global problem which existed even before the September 11 attacks and hence the need to change tact in addressing it. Valentina, T2010, U.S. Response to Terrorism: A Strategic Analysis of the Afghanistan Campaign, Journal of Strategic Security, vol.2, no. 2, pp. 27-38. The Author looks at how the US has responded to global terrorism as well as its anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan since the September 11 attack in 2001 to date.

He aims to unearthed and hence understand the misunderstandings, fallacies and missteps of its approach in the fight against terror in Afghanistan. The author has also evaluated the lessons learnt from the US action against terror as well as possible strategies that could be used in the achievement of long-term security and stability in Afghanistan. The author states that despite defeating the Taliban at first, the approach was initially focused on the terrorist only but lacked long-term planning leading to emergence of insurgent movement against the presence of US army in Afghanistan.

This called for a change in strategy shifting focus to the population, governmental and local support. According to the author, this resulted in positive results between 2003 and 2005. However, the author recognizes that the situation did deteriorate with casualties increasing with both Al-Qaida and Taliban gathering strength. Though new troops were deployed to Afghanistan, the Author notes that Afghanistan is not stable yet hence implying how difficult fighting terror is. Khusrav, G, Todd, S&, Charlida, S2012, Assessing the evolving threat of terrorism, Global policy, vol.3, no. 2, pp. 135-144. In this article, the intention of the author is to show that acts of domestic terror pose as much greater threat to the peace and security.

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