What is Terrorism? and Why the World Suffers from Terrorism?

Until the events of 11 September 2001 terrorism was widely considered to be a security concern of the second order. For some, what was variously dubbed ‘new’ terrorism, ‘global’ terrorism or ‘catastrophic’ terrorism had become the principal security threat in the early 21st century, reflecting the fact that, in conditions of globalization, non–state actors (in this case terrorist groups) had gained important advantages over states.

What about what is terrorism? Terrorism is that it is a form of political violence that aims to achieve its objectives by creating a climate of fear and apprehension. The most common forms of terrorist action include assassinations, bombings, hostage seizures, and plane hijacks, although the advent of terrorism with a global reach, as demonstrated by September 11, has threatened to redefine the phenomenon. However, its victims generally are innocent people/civilians. Some terrorists, moreover, have viewed civilians as ‘guilty’, on the grounds that they are implicated in, and benefit from, structural oppression that takes place on a national or even global level. Their perpetrators are non-state bodies that are intent on influencing the actions of governments or international organizations. 

However, such a focus on what Laquer called ‘terrorism from below’ rises ignoring the much more extensive killing of unarmed civilians ‘terrorism from above’, sometimes classified as state terrorism or ‘state-sponsored’ terrorism. 

State terrorism’s definition is terrorism carried out by government bodies such as the police, military, or intelligence agencies. Another fact that is terrorists relies on strategies of provocation and polarization. There are four types of terrorism: Insurrectionary (this is aimed at the revolutionary overthrow of a state (examples include anarchist and revolutionary communist terrorism)), Loner or issue (this is aimed at the promotion of a single cause (examples include the bombing of abortion clinics in the USA and the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway by the religious cult Aum Shinryko)), Nationalist (this aims to overthrow colonial rule or occupation, often with the goal of gaining independence for an ethnic, religious or national group (examples include the FLN in Algeria, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (commonly known as the Tamil Tigers) in Sri Lanka and Hamas and Hezbollah in Israel and the occupied territories)) and global (this is aimed at inflicting damage and humiliation on a global power or at transforming global civilizational relations (examples include al-Qaeda and other forms of Islamist terrorism)). 

Whatever ‘new’ terrorism is more radical and devastating than ‘traditional’ terrorism. We can give some examples of ‘new’ terrorism such as September 11 attacks or Aum Shinrikyo attacks in 1995. New terrorism supposedly has a number of features, it's most important, and perhaps defining feature is that religious motivations for terrorism have replaced secular motivations. Modern terrorism is sometimes, therefore, portrayed as a child of globalization. Why can we say this? First, increased cross–border flows of people, goods, Money, technology, and ideas have generally benefited non-state actors at the expense of states, and terrorist groups have proved to be particularly adept at exploiting this hyper-mobility. Second, increased international migration flows have often helped to sustain terrorist campaigns, as diaspora communities can become an important source of funding. Third, globalization has generated pressures that have contributed to growth in political militancy generally. Modern terrorism has sometimes been named ‘catastrophic terrorism’ or ‘hyper-terrorism’. There are three different main ways to fight or prevent terrorism. They are: Strengthening state security, military repression, and, political deals. According to realists, if political leaders prevent terror, they should be prepared to get their hands dirty. However, liberal thinking about terrorism has tended to be dominated by the ethical dilemmas that are posed by the task of counter-terrorism. On the other hand, liberals typically view terrorism as an attack on the very principles of a liberal-democratic society.