The Significance of Modern Terrorism - Essay Example

Modern Terrorism Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 5 References 10 Introduction This paper is a critical evaluation of the extent of the significance of modern terrorism as represented by such groups as the Taliban, Al Qaida, ISIS, ISIL and others in terms of the threat that they pose to world security and peace. To begin the discussion it is worthwhile to first define terrorism and modern terrorism, and to put the term in the context of its historical development. The literature agrees that the word terrorism itself has its roots in the French Revolution, with connotations of the use of violence to pursue political ends and to control populations through the use of terror. Tactics of terrorism, on the other hand, are said to predate even the historical genesis of the name, and have been in use for ages. That said, there is also some consensus that when one talks about modern terrorism, one talks about something that seems to have no precedent in history, and is therefore something that is totally new. True, the ends from the past and as they are now pursued by modern terrorists are the same, and that is to achieve destabilization and to be able to make gains in the political sphere at the expense of innocent lives lost. On the other hand, what makes modern terrorism different from older forms of terrorism is a set of characteristics peculiar to the modern age. This set of characteristics include the ability of terrorists to access technologies that are advanced in their capabilities to destroy while evading detection; the means available to instantly relay messages to the general public, such as the use of Internet technologies, social media, and traditional TV media; and the mobile aspects of terrorism that allows for the rapid execution of terroristic acts started somewhere else and ignited finally at destinations of world significance, such as the major world cities. The communication aspect is aided by the technological developments in communication and in the use of the Internet to propagate the terroristic message very quickly, thus aiding in the quick achievement of terroristic goals. Communication is said to have ever been a vital aspect of the terrorists work, and modern communication technologies mark a new phase in terrorism that is thoroughly identified with its modern form. Then too, advances in modern transportation and modern weapons technologies further add to the new and immense powers of modern terrorists to sow terror and achieve their aims via means that will keep eluding the authorities. One can say moreover that a fourth aspect of modern terrorism is this quality of seemingly being immune from total suppression, as modern terroristic methods keep pace with the abilities of governments to quash them. An example of this latter aspect of the evolving nature of modern terrorism that defy government efforts to thwart them is the rise of lone wolf terrorists who make use of modern weapons, transportation, and communication methods to sow terror as individuals rather than as groups, making them even more lethal and effective (White, 2013; Rapoport, n.d.; Weimann, 2004; Ganor, n.d.; Digital History, 2014; Moore, n.d.; Sukhoparova, 2014). When one talks about modern terrorism therefore, one can say that the political aims of the terrorists have remained the same through time, but the methods, tactics and level of philosophical and religious sophistication of the terrorists have changed and evolved to take advantage of all advances in technologies and means of deployment that are available. Literature exists to mark the rise of modern terrorism in step with the career and life of one of its stalwarts and key proponents, the former head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization or PLO, Yasser Arafat. In the context of the modern representatives of terrorism, on the other hand, ISIS, ISIL, Al Qaida, and the Taliban, the rest of the paper makes a critical exploration of just how much of a threat modern terrorism is to the security and peace of the global community. Of special interest of course, due to the freshness of its exploits and the news surrounding those, is the impact of the activities of the Islamic State on world peace, and of the developing stories and analyses surrounding the exploits of the terrorist group as representative of the destructive and disruptive capabilities of modern terrorism relative to the power of governments to secure the peace and well-being of its communities (Leung, 2013; Kenyon, 2014; McCants, 2014; Hamid, 2014; McCarthy, 2004; Byman et al., 2014; Benjamin, 2014: Shaikh, 2014). Discussion The goal is to determine just how significant a threat to global security and peace modern terrorism is, through its key proponents. From a routine survey of the literature, and gauging from the intense focus given to global terrorists by the media, by governments, by think tanks, and by world bodies such as the United Nations and the various regional security associations, one can say with some conviction that the impact of global terrorism is profound and chronic. On the one hand terrorism in its various forms has been noted to be a firm fixture of the world system, something that the world has dealt with through the centuries. It is something too that seems to be a product of the world itself, its way of being. As the world is currently configured, according to one school of thought, terrorism seems to be a firm part of it and not something that is external to the ways of the world. The world breeds terrorism in the same way that it breeds all of the other fixtures of the modern world: trade, religions, political systems, and the like. The extent of its impact on world peace therefore can be gauged in terms of how terrorism has impacted world security and peace through time. The impact is substantial, and yet the world somehow manages to proceed through its path to the present, and to live out its life regardless. From this systems point of view one can infer a role for terrorism as something intrinsic seemingly to the ways of the world but also a role that seems to have an impact that does not totally destroy the whole world, but just keeps it perpetually on a kind of edge, with no resolution either for the governments and the peacekeepers and the terrorists. The side of peace is somehow the side that seems to progress more through time, but not totally and at all times (Bergesen and Lizardo, 2004). Indeed, taking a step back and looking at the actuations of those who have represented modern terrorism in the recent past, from the PLO to the present Islamic State, one can see that they exist not to totally thwart the world order, because then even their own existence and viability are put into risk. The PLO, for instance, sought to profit from their activities too, and to be able to advance their own political and economic systems, in ways that benefit them for sure. Nevertheless, even in the midst of the terrorist crises of the past, the world somehow managed to move ahead. The terrorist organizations too somehow managed to not totally destabilize the world order, but to just keep it on its toes. Meanwhile, looking too at the present order of things, groups such as the Taliban and the Islamic State do seem to find some measure of stasis too, even as they try to destabilize the world and to sow terror as a means to push for their own political, social, religious and economic agendas. On the other hand, with the tools of their trade becoming more advanced and deadly, it is not guaranteed that the historical status quo of the terrorists being kept in check will persist indefinitely (McCarthy, 2004; Hamid, 2014; Byman et al., 2014; Shaikh, 2014; Hoffmann, 2002; Tsfati and Weimann, 2002; Rapoport, 1984; Weimann, 2008). Focusing on the extent of the damage or harm to world peace and security done by the Islamic State, meanwhile, gives us a more modern context for thinking through the peace implications of modern terrorism. In the context of public perception of what constitutes the greatest threat to world security and peace is, for instance, there is a large majority of people in the west, and certainly in the United States and the United Kingdom, that the rise of ISIS in Iraq and in Syria and its determined push to grab power is the by far the present biggest threat to the peace and security of the world, and much of the west and the Middle East. This public perception translates into the potential for the voting public to pressure legislators and the executive branches of their governments to intervene. Certainly in the realm of public perception modern terrorism seems to be having a profound impact in terms of perception of destabilizing power, and is worth noting (Dahlgreen, 2014). Moreover ,such public perception of the large and looming threat of the Islamic State on world security stands in stark contrast to intellectual perceptions of the United States and its oil interests in the Middle East representing a bigger threat to world peace than the Islamic State itself and its ambitions to grab control of Syria and Iraq. This latter perception is shared by some members of the American academia, including students from Harvard, who propose that western meddling in the Middle East to secure oil is by far a bigger threat to the peace of the world than the actions of modern terrorists like the Islamic State. These conflicting views on impacts of different players on the world stage on world peace do have an underlying common thread, in that world peace impacts by modern terrorists need to take into consideration how and why different players in the world stage act the way they do, and how their individual actions create ripples that impact all other players in the space. In other words, viewing the world as a system of interdependent parts, one is able to make some sense of just how complex the problem of modern terrorism is, and how difficult it is to gauge the impact to world peace of modern terrorism viewed in isolation from the other players such as governments and private interests (Ernst, 2014; FoxNews.com, 2014; Bergesen and Lizardo, 2004). Meanwhile, to answer the question at hand, whether the United States or the Islamic State is the bigger threat to world peace does not take away from the very large negative impact to world security and peace brought about by the direct actions of modern terrorists like the Islamic State. The impact to peace is so large, that entire governments and countries are affected. In the case of Syria and Iraq moreover, which are the staging grounds for the terroristic acts of the Islamic State, disruptions to the peace and to the economies of the two nations have far-reaching destabilizing effects on the Middle East and the rest of the world. The magnitude of the impact on peace is further evidenced by the United Nations Security Council getting into the picture to explicitly focus their attention on the Islamic State and to condemn the terrorist group for causing harm to Iraq and the Middle East by its attacks and its destabilizing terrorist work (Islamic World Peace Forum, 2014; Ernst, 2014; FoxNews.com, 2014; Bergesen and Lizardo, 2004). To conclude, the critical assessment of the impact of modern terrorism on global security and peace is partly about assessing the scale of the destruction that its proponents cause. In the case of the Islamic State, one can see that its impact goes beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria, and extends to the rest of the Middle East and the world. This is partly due to the strategic importance of the oil resources of the two countries to the world order. The bigger impact too, aside from the immediate economic and political aspects of the destabilization, is in the minds of ordinary people around the world, whose peace and sense of security have been shaken by the effective methods employed by the modern terrorists as discussed in this paper (Islamic World Peace Forum, 2014; Ernst, 2014; FoxNews.com, 2014; Bergesen and Lizardo, 2004; White, 2013; Rapoport, n.d.; Weimann, 2004). References Benjamin, D. (2014). Syrias Jihadis Should Be Confronted, Not Feared. Brookings Institution. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2014/09/24-syria-jihadis-contronted-not-feared-benjamin Bergesen, A. and Lizardo, O. (2004). International Terrorism and the World System. Sociological Theory 22 (1). Retrieved from http://www86.homepage.villanova.edu/maghan.keita/readingsterrorism/terrorism/Bergesen%20and%20Lizardo,%20International%20terrorism.pdf Byman, D. et al. (2014). Around the Halls: What is ISIS Strategy? Brookings Institution. 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