Terror in the 21st Century: An Exploration
By Micah Williams
Introduction:
Terrorism is not a new phenomenon in the history of Mankind. As technologies and human thought have evolved over time, people have sought new ways to control the environment in which they live and the proliferation of terrorism has increased. This is especially the case in the quickly changing world of the 21st century. The goal of this paper is to explore terrorism by explaining its causes. Even though its a new field of study by political scientists and psychologists alike, many have developed their own theories on why terrorism exists. Some arguments are better than others. A common issue thats really popular in the current climate surrounding terrorism is religion. Many like to blame what they believe to be the radical ideals of the Islam as the cause for terrorism. However, this explanation does not hold up as it does not clearly explain terrorism. As Kurth said, “But the driving forces of twenty-first-century terrorism are power and frustration, not the pursuit of religious principle. To dismiss the broad enabling environment would be to focus more on the symptoms than the causes of modern terrorism” (Kurth 2003 :55). That is why I am offering different explanations for terrorism. While the causes of terrorism are broad and context-specific, they are mainly derived from deprivation caused by globalization and psychological trauma.
The main issue when studying terrorism is defining it. Motives, techniques and environments, in which terrorism occurs are all different. What is true though is that terrorism is political in nature. So when the target is one’s enemy and not oneself, it might not be viewed as terrorism by some. This had made it historically very difficult to define. Without a clear agreed-upon definition, research on terrorism becomes difficult. However, for the purposes of this paper, the US State Department’s definition of terrorism will be used as follows: “ ‘The term ‘terrorism’ means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience. The term ‘international terrorism’ means terrorism involving the citizens or territory of more than one country,’” (Krueger, Maleckova 2002: 27). Terrorism is targeted, political violence with the aims of creating psychological destress in order to achieve some political change. With terrorism defined, the causes of why terrorism occurs may now be explored.
Section II Alternative Approaches:
The Topic of modern terrorism is without a doubt centered around Islam. Ever since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the image of radical Islamic extremists has been etched into the memory of every American and others in the world. Explaining terrorism this way has reason behind it. The reason of this thinking is that Islam has facilitated ideas that cause radicalization of people to happen. Jihad a principle of Islam that dictates that believers should work to protect the religion. This has been used to explain why these extremists attack Western civilizations. Osama Bin Laden himself even admitted to having declared Jihad on the West, notably the United States (Irfan 2002: 1400).
According to Irfan, the rhetoric of the West has strongly supported this stigma against Islam, especially since the 9/11 attacks (Irfan 2002: 1399). Media outlets have portrayed civilized Western leaders compared next to the uncivilized turban-clad Islamic leaders. That works to create an us vs. them mentality. While this helps to fit our mental schemas of good guys and bad guys, it does not adequately explain why terrorism happens. It doesn't acknowledge terrorist from other religions and backgrounds. An example that Irfan examines in the difference between Osama Bin Laden and Timothy McVeigh. Both of these terrorist had similar views on the United States. From their perspective, American foreign policies are hypocritical and paradoxical, while their military presence only brings pain, suffering and death (Irfan 2002: 1400). These shared beliefs are shared by people from different religions. McVeigh, despite not being Islam, was radicalized nonetheless to a point where he thought the idea of bombing the Murrah Federal Builiding in Oklahoma. Even though Islamic terrorism is what dominates American news, terrorists are far too diverse in their religious backgrounds for religion to be an effective determinate of terrorist activity.
Section III:
21st century has seen rapid change unlike that seen previously. Technological advances have brought the world together in unpexpected way. Global trade has blossomed and interdependencies between the nations of the world have been developed. The United States has emerged as a world superpower and therefore, it has seen its influence grow and reach all corners of the globe. This westernization has reached areas that share different values that those of many western nations. These more conservative cultures are being impacted by globalization especially hard. In such cultures, most notably, the Arab countries, this globalization is being seen as a threat for two reasons. First, globalization, but more specifically westernization is, in their opinion, working to change their way of life to fit more into a western ideal. Secondly, this spread of capitalism and technology also shows would-be terrorists what they do not have in comparison to those from wealthier lands (Cronin 2002: 53). This relative deprivation coupled with a lack of a political outlets means violence.
This implications can been seen right now in the Arab world. U.S. policy is uncoordinated. While their military presence is well-organized, those in positions of power in the US fail to recognize the soft power that comes with globalization (Kurth 2002: 53). It is important to recognize that terrorism usually comes arises from changing unstable environments. Poverty as Krueger and Maleckova argue, is not a reliable cause for terrorism. It is instead abject political conditions and a feelings indignity that create an environment possible for terrorism (Krueger, Maleckova 2002: 27). This is not something I argue in this opaper, as my position is a bit more nuanced. Poverty, when compared to other impoverished people, seems normal. However, when you compare your lack of freedoms, rights and economic opportunities to countries that do have them, it makes attitudes change.
It cannot be ignored that a common thread among terrorists and their organizations is the prevalence of middle class, educated individuals. It may seem contradictory to previous arguments made, but terrorists are diverse in their backgrounds. However, psychologically speaking, a pattern that is common among terrorists especially these middle class educated terrorists, is a history of trauma, usually experienced in their childhood years. “Splitting” is a term used to describe a condition caused by a childhood trauma, where individuals have never gotten the change to integrate good and bad parts of themselves (Jerrod 1998: 27). As Jerrod explains, “An individual with this personality constellation idealizes his grandiose self and splits out and projects onto others all the hated and devalued weakness within. Individuals who place high reliance on the mechanisms of splitting and externalization look outward for the source of difficulties,” (Jerrod 1998: 27).
This theory was tested by looking at the family histories of 250 West German terrorists. Among them appeared a pattern; fragmented families. 25% of the leftist terrorists had only one parents by the age of fourteen. A large share of them described an environment of conflict growing up with regards to the parents. 1 out of 3 had been convicted in juvenile court (Jerrod 1998: 28). Troubled childhoods were common among these terrorists, which is exactly during the age in which “splitting” occurs.
Conclusion:
Terrorism remains an ever-changing field of study, as showed by the lack of an agreed upon definition of the term. Terrorists do come in all shapes and sizes and all have different agendas. While the causes of terrorism are numerous and often disputed, I have argued that two reasons rise to the top, most applicable in regards to modern terrorism. Globalization has brought the realization that cultures and levels of economic development vary extremely throughout the world. The soft power of globalization is often discarded as non-important by US policies makers, who mainly focus on coordinated military actions as a reactionary measure instead of focusing on the causes of terrorism that would help to prevent such attacks from happening. It should be known that it is not poverty that causes people to radicalize and become violent, but instead the juxtaposition of that poverty to those societies and classes with wealth. It is dangerous to assume that poverty be the sole cause of terrorism. With that mindset, foreign aid would only be given out with the goal to stop terrorism. This not only incentivizes terrorism, but it also means that when terrorist activity ceases in a certain area, aid would cease as well, effectively creating a vicious cycle (Krueger, Maleckova 2002: 27). Terrorism can, furthermore, be looked at through a psychological lens. Aforementioned evidence shows patterns of family and childhood trauma, which causes a condition known as “splitting”. This is where the beginnings of many of the trademark terrorist personality traits develop. Implications from such findings are hard to draw policy from. However, more research combined with further developmental assistance to terrorist prone areas or at-risk areas are definite steps in the right direction.
Works Cited
Cronin, A. (2002). Behind the Curve: Globalization and International Terrorism. International Security, 27(3), 30-58. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3092113
Irfan Ahmad. (2002). Timothy McVeighs of the 'Orient'. Economic and Political Weekly, 37(15), 1399-1400. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4411982
Krueger, A., & Maleckova, J. (2002) Does Poverty Cause Terrorism?. The New Republic, 27-33.
Post, Jerrold M. (1998) “Terrorist psycho-logic: Terrorist Behavior as a product of psychological forces” in W. Reich ed. Origins of Terrorism. (Woodrow Wilson Center Press): 25-40.