...TERRORISM AND GLOBALIZATION “Terrorism has rarely been absent from history, and over centuries has appeared in many guises”1. Referring to Walter Laqueur, no state or international system has been exempted from this form of non-state violence. However, the major shifts carried by globalization, that is to say the transformation from a state-centric world to a global system, seem to have perturbed the way violent non-state actors act, claim, interfere, and wage war in the new international system. If we follow the vision of Carpenter, we can talk about a “new world disorder”2 because of the multiplicity of new actors supported by international markets and transnational links. But, should we use the adjective “new” to describe nowadays’ terrorist organizations and attacks? Since 9/11 attacks, world seem to have toggled in major insecurity and fear of those modern organization that can act wherever and whenever they want at any place in the world. Undeniably, terrorists’ forms of violence have evolved by taking advantage of criminal organizations’ and illegal trades’ favourable trends. But this method, more than a political doctrine, represents a non-state use of violence or threat of violence to spread fear and bring political reform or revolution. Therefore, it should be reconsidered with the former violent actors and the disintegration of states. Moreover, the subject comprehension have to be reinforced in order - for great power or American superpower - to prevent those...
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...There is no universal definition of terrorism but in what case does it really matters? Do we need a universal definition of terrorism? During the last two century, many definition of terrorism have been elaborated. As today there are several different kinds of terrorism and also different point of view on terrorism nobody can clearly understand what is terrorism. The description of terrorism varies between cultures. Moreover one of the current problems with the word terrorism is that it is easier to define this term by what it is not than define it by what it is. A Universal definition is needed, In order to clearly understand this notion. However, even scholars or governments are not agreeing on the fact that we need a universal definition of terrorism. According to Lutz, “what will be useful is to provide a working definition, as neutral as possible. What is also necessary is to read and evaluate with cares how others use the word. A clear and workable definition of terrorism should cover both groups that individuals agree with and group that they disagree with” . Sebastian Wojciechowski offers several...
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...Universal Morality Lenn Goodman explains in Some Moral Minima that there are many norms in terms of morals. Such subjects that Goodman mentions is slavery, polygamy, rape, incest, clitoridectomy, terrorism, hostages, child warriors, genocide, famine, and germ warfare. These topics send a shiver down the spine of most people. There is a deep moral understanding of right and wrong when it comes to such things as Goodman mentions. These topics expand past any country or culture boundaries. This is a matter of being human and understanding what penetrates the core of our humanity. Things such as slavery, hostages, and forced famine are all things that strike at the very heart of humanity. Humanity is the basic connection between all races, cultures, and connects our overall existence as a whole. Once our humanity is chipped away at by another we can see where the wrong doing lays. The preservation of life and the freedom to live life is what is most wrong to take away. Essentially a moral norm is things that our universal human morality should prevent that rob others of life, dignity, survival, and one’s own will. The targeting of one culture for mass murder is universally wrong for robs others of life for something completely out of their control. Genocide is a destruction of a race or culture past, present, and future generations. Morally, this is wrong to commit such mass destruction of humanity. Political acts against people for mass killing is depriving living human beings the right...
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...Gérard Chaliand. The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007. Change plus vite, hélas! que le coeur d'un mortel. The form of a town changes more swiftly alas! Than the heart of a mortal. Charles Baudelaire, Le Cygne (The Swan) In The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda, edited by Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin, readers will find an excellent compilation of essays regarding the history of terrorism. Beginning with the earliest recorded manifestations of terrorism to the present day, the editors provide not only detailed accounts of terrorism through the ages, but valuable historical context that helps the reader understand the complexities of the terrorism we face today. Overall, the purpose of this book is to show that terrorism is used for political purposes, that it is psychological in nature, and that this has been the case throughout history. The editors organize this collection of essays into a roughly chronological order that provides continuity to the argument that terrorism has evolved throughout history, while maintaining signature characteristics that distinguish it from other types of warfare. Beginning with the Zealots and Assassins of pre-medieval history, readers will soon begin to make connections between the various eras of terrorism. Additionally, this chronological arrangement lends itself to understanding that from its earliest stages, terrorism has always been a tactic that...
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...Questions to Think About Part I: Module 7 1. Not to justify terrorism in any way, shape or form, but what are some of the reasons for it that could be seen as valid complaints? Some of the reasons used to justify terrorism are deeply roots to extremist belief that is driven by a religious passion with goals of conformity. In order to have a persuasive message one has to understand and connect with a group’s frustrations and deeply rooted belief foundations. The movement of terrorism does this by shaping the purpose for the violent and terrorist acts in a way to make it a legitimate reasoning to perform such acts. For example, the global jihad was contributed by the government appearing to fail and not meet the needs of its people; therefore, coalitions and alliances were formed to oppose leadership and institutionalized Islam activism. Furthermore, when the government does not fully address the needs of its people, poverty and unemployment increases; therefore, making opposition against the government and crime increase (Esposito, p.26-70, 86-94). 2. How do you think the many definitions of jihad have complicated the issue of terrorism? The interpretations of jihad differentiate from non-violent to violent, which are basically extremists and terrorists. How jihad is defined does complicate the issue of terrorism, I think mainly because terrorism is viewed to be directly stemmed from an extremist movement, but just has furthered its tactics. The term jihad has...
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...The representation of terrorism, Islam and Muslim identities on popular US series Homeland Introduction Images of Muslim and Islam have dramatically increased in the media coverage as well as popular culture ever since we have entered the “post-9/11 era”, as Elizabeth Poole observed. (2008:81) The shocking real life images from the horrifying terrorist attack in September 2011 has triggered various interpretation on the discourse of what it means to be Muslim and the image of Islam and its culture in the western media, and still have profound influence even after more than a decade and ongoing. Apart from the coverage on news media, TV entertainment, especially TV dramas also provide a powerful outlet for the popular prevailing discourses on Muslim and Islamic culture, which compare to news reports, leaves a more vivid and graphic impression on audience with its discourse and narratives. The proposed subject I am going to study is revolved around the representation of Islam and Muslim identity in the popular US TV drama Homeland. (Showtime, 2011) Homeland (Showtime, 2011) has been arguably the most successful TV series focusing on the theme of counter-terrorism and national security across the Atlantic since 2011, following its predecessor 24 (Fox, 2001) developed by the same producers. When asked what made the show distinctive compared to its predecessors, Damian Lewis, who played as Sgt Nicholas Brody, the male lead in Homeland replied, “We feel a bit differently...
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...However, in the meantime, "terrorism" has become American monomania since the September 11 attack, it has caused widespread concern. In this essay, I will analyze some possible cause and effect of terrorism. The first reason is that some people pressured by weak economic condition. Social contradictions have become increasingly, which lead to the development of terrorism. Because of economic recession and unemployment, diverse young people hope struggle to reality and give vent to a terrorist incident. What is more, lots of ethnic contradictions do not get a satisfactory solution. Take Israelis and Palestinians as an example, a small number of radical Palestinian organizations suicide terrorist attacks to the Israeli soldier's horrendous bombardment, because the new Israeli government carries out stringent policy on Palestinians. The third and very important factor is that terrorism is the result of religious and cultural conflict. In the recent years, there is no denying the fact that the Islamic Revival Movement has the greatest influence on a lot of Muslim nations. With the development of information industry, Western culture began to penetrate into some Muslim countries, for instance, Christianity have access to these Muslim countries, which cannot accepted by extreme fundamentalists, they are strongly opposed to the non-Muslim culture heresy and called for the full realization of the Islamization. Terrorism affects a nation in numerous aspects. Terrorism affects the economy...
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...How To Combat Terrorism Terrorism is used by extremist to scare the public into meeting their demands. These terrorist believe that if they can cause some sort of panic that they can force people to fear them and in turn, have power over them. Their tactics are generally extremely violent and they will do whatever is necessary to strike fear into the hearts of those they deem to be their enemy. What can be done to combat terrorist? Is there any way that we can keep ourselves safe from these extremist? Combating terrorism is no easy task and it is something that can not be done over night. It will be a long struggle that could be quite dangerous. One of the first things to do is to find out all of the methods that these terrorists use and understand their strategies. How do they attack us? In what ways have they been most successful? If we can find out all of the ways they may attack, it will be much easier to set up defenses and stop them before they harm any innocent people. Once you know where they will attack, you can begin setting up procedures to stop them. One of the most obvious rules is to simply have security scout the area for anything unusual. At an airport, for example, security guards should be constantly patrolling the area and if they notice anything strange, they should check it out. There should be some sort of system to check bags for harmful items and of course a metal detector. Some sort of smaller system should be placed in any type of area that terrorist...
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...Michael Butts SOS-440 Terrorism and Media Recent history, specifically the past decade, has provided plenty of examples of the mutually beneficial relationship between terrorist organizations and the media. As some remarkable terrorist attacks in history indicate, whether it is in the United States (US), Europe, or the Middle East, it is by and large the case that the architects of terrorism exploit the media for the benefit of their operational efficiency, information gathering, recruitment, fund raising, and propaganda schemes (Nacos 2006). In the words of Nacos (2002), whether it is the relatively inconsequential arson by an amateurish environmental group or mass destruction by a network of terrorists, the perpetrators’ media-related goals are the same: attention, recognition, and perhaps even a degree of respectability and legitimacy in their various publics (Nacos 2002). Media, in return, receives the attention of the public that is vital for its existence and benefits from record sales and huge audiences. To put it briefly, just as terrorism has to be communicated to have effect, the media has to cover the incidents in such a way to benefit from the public’s eagerness to obtain information about terrorist attacks. It is, therefore, fair to argue that there is a mutually beneficial relationship between terrorism and today’s media. Indeed, the goals of terrorists are not solely confined to winning the attention of the masses. In addition to that, through the media, they...
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...domestically and abroad. To prevent future ISIS terrorism activities on US soil, few actions to deal with this issue must be taken into consideration, such as the need to define ISIS, reorganization of the Counter Terrorism Bureau, and the coordination of intelligence for the Syrian refugee management crisis. The White House has not done a great job in defining ISIS . Thus, there are no clear goals in dealing with them. Clear goal is needed to produce efficient tasks . For example, the goal could be “defeating” ISIS, which in this case is a vague mission. A vague mission is going to provide constraints in managing governmental agencies. It is more difficult to answer the next question, which is how to “defeat” ISIS because the White House does not have a clear definition of what ISIS really does . Thus, in defining ISIS, a committee should be established. This committee should consist of people who are familiar with the culture...
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...In what ways, if any, has globalization transformed the phenomenon of terrorism? Introduction The idea of terrorism has not always been as it is today. The word “terror” originated after the French Revolution and the word “terrorism” was subsequently recorded by the Académie Française in 1798 (Roberts 2002). The regime of “la Terreur” was one of force and bloody repression against opponents to the newly born French Republic, but since the 19th century, terrorism has come to designate a method of opposition used by small groups (Tilly 2004, 8-9) “against the legitimacy of the prevailing sovereign power” (Scruton 2002, 126). As Barkawi (2006, 129) aptly puts across “‘terror’ is often used as a weapon by those who lack sufficient weapons to fight a military war, who believe their voices are not being heard and their desires bear no fruit”. Contrary to the French “terror”, “terrorism” is then no longer a practice of the State; it is that of radical groups opposing the State, and it is mainly the State that gives them this name (Townshend 2002, 3); the names these groups give themselves are in relation to a cause they see as legitimate. Such causes have arisen in numerous places, prompting some to take extreme but in their minds justified action, and Europe has faced terrorist threats long before the 9/11 attacks, incarnated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Basque Fatherland and Liberty group (ETA) in Spain or the Red Brigades in Italy, to name only a few (Barkawi...
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...Terrorism of America On September 11, 2001 life in America changed forever when terrorists crashed planes into the twin towers, pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Since the occurrence of those events the word “terrorism” has been part of the common vocabulary in our day to day lives. The threat of terrorism has brought about many changes. It has created tighter security restrictions, increased intelligence gathering, and for some a sense of paranoia. It has also created a hatred towards those who seek to terrorize the United States. One must ask what is terrorism exactly and why does it happen? The word terrorism was first used in the late 18th century. In Geoffrey Nunberg’s essay “The War of Words: “Terror” and “Terrorism” he uses French Revolutionary Robespierre’s definition of terror as “nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue” (Nunberg 433). Terrorism was the action of a people who were working for and ideological cause. It was a means of bringing about change. Whether the action was positive or negative was determined by the group defining it. While those acting to bring...
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...I was in 7th grade, and I was failing my Turkish class. My teacher, Mrs. Aygar told me that if I joined Turkish Olympiad, which is a competition where students from various schools across the country compete in categories such as poetry, singing, and folk dance, I could get extra credit that could escalate my grade. The LISA folk dance team needed another boy, and I was the one who filled that spot. When I first joined the joined the folk dance team, I was almost immediately criticized by my peers. Even some of my closest friends even harassed me for being on the folk dance team. But what made me consider dropping out of Turkish Olympiad was when I was asked a question by one of my father’s co-workers. “Do you enjoy celebrating terrorism and...
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...Poverty and Terrorism (main) Poverty and Terrorism Poverty is the root cause of terrorism. (MSS) End Poverty Will End Violence Poverty as well as ignorance can be wiped off the face of earth. Then VIOLENCE will be unheard of. (MSS) Ending Terrorism by Ending Poverty Terrorism will vanish when its root cause, poverty, is eliminated. That poverty can be eliminated through higher levels of education, which enables true truths to flow, and greater knowledge of what can be achieved in life for the individual, replacing the falsehoods and evil that rise in the soil of poverty and ignorance. The world has to come together to try to figure out a way for these countries (plus the countries of Africa, and the many pockets of misery elsewhere) to emerge from their neglect, so that fundamentalism and terror will evaporate, and that the energies of angry men and women can be absorbed for productive and happy lives. End of Hold of Religion Behind Terrorism through Prosperity, Education, & Enlightened Mind After the end of the Cold War, we see ferocious animosities focussed at precise undefined points in the shape of terrorist explosions. Presently the world is finding it difficult to come by a satisfying answer to this phenomenon. Marx's description of religion as the opium of the masses deserves consideration here. Opium intoxicates in usual doses, destroys in overdoses. What is a usual dose of a drug to a cultivated mind is an overdose to a superstitious mind. Idealism...
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...happened to a country with as much resources and technology as the U.S. My review focuses on John Mueller’s article “How Dangerous are the Taliban?” The Taliban was founded in 1994, which is fairly young for organization that is notoriously known for violence. The Taliban began as a small group of students that studied Islam from Afghan refugee camps. The Taliban members were poor and started off originally with good intentions. The most important of these services was safety. The Taliban organized to prevent school children from being abducted and raped on their way to school in the impoverished villages around Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and provide spiritual services to those residents as well. Radical Islamist hate our culture. They...
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