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Security Systems: International Terrorism: Paulo Kael M. Espiritu Gervielyn Punto

This document discusses the history and causes of international terrorism. It begins by defining terrorism and explaining its origins in nationalist movements fighting colonial powers after World War II. It then discusses how terrorism shifted globally after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, becoming concentrated in the Middle East. While terrorism receives intense media attention, the actual number of deaths is relatively low compared to other violent causes. The document also outlines rational motives for terrorism such as strategic political goals, and consequences like the global War on Terror initiated after 9/11. Finally, it discusses how the internet has become a major tool for terrorist organizations to communicate and recruit members across borders.

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54 views12 pages

Security Systems: International Terrorism: Paulo Kael M. Espiritu Gervielyn Punto

This document discusses the history and causes of international terrorism. It begins by defining terrorism and explaining its origins in nationalist movements fighting colonial powers after World War II. It then discusses how terrorism shifted globally after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, becoming concentrated in the Middle East. While terrorism receives intense media attention, the actual number of deaths is relatively low compared to other violent causes. The document also outlines rational motives for terrorism such as strategic political goals, and consequences like the global War on Terror initiated after 9/11. Finally, it discusses how the internet has become a major tool for terrorist organizations to communicate and recruit members across borders.

Uploaded by

Paulo Kael Espiritu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Security Systems:

International
Terrorism
PAULO KAEL M. ESPIRITU
GERVIELYN PUNTO
Terrorism

 Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of


intentionally indiscriminate violence as a
means to create terror among masses of
people; or fear to achieve a religious or
political aim. It is used in this regard primarily
to refer to violence during peacetime or in war
against non-combatants.
Modern terrorism after the second
world war
 The use of terrorism to further a political cause has accelerated
in recent years. Modern terrorism largely came into being after
the Second World War with the rise of nationalist movements in
the old empires of the European powers. These early anti-colonial
movements recognized the ability of terrorism to both generate
publicity for the cause and influence global policy. Bruce
Hoffman, director of the Centre of Security Studies at
Georgetown University writes that, "The ability of these groups to
mobilize sympathy and support outside the narrow confines of
their actual “theaters of operation” thus taught a powerful lesson
to similarly aggrieved peoples elsewhere, who now saw in
terrorism an effective means of transforming hitherto local
conflicts into international issues." This development paved the
way for international terrorism in the 1960s.
Terrorism after 9/11

 The attacks of 11 September 2001, known as 9/11, marked a


turning point in world history and the beginning of the 'War on
Terror'. The attacks are estimated to have killed 3000 people
making it the deadliest terrorist incident in human history. The
subsequent War on Terror led to the invasion of Afghanistan in
2001 and Iraq in 2003. The following table summarises the
concentration of terrorist attacks pre- and post-9/11. It reveals
that terrorism pre-9/11 was concentrated in Latin America and
Asia, but shifted to the Middle East post-9/11--Peru, Chile and El
Salvador completely disappear from the top 10. More than a
quarter of all terrorist attacks between 9/11 and 2008 took place
in Iraq.
Top 10 most attacked countries and territories, 1970 to
September 11, 2001 and September 11, 2001 to 2008 –
Peace and Conflict 2012

The shifting concentration of global terrorist activity can be seen in the following
map. Terrorism post-9/11 has been concentrated in predominantly Muslim
countries as a result of radical Islamic ideologies and sectarian violence.
The risk of terrorism in a broader
perspective
 Despite the intense media focus on terrorist activity around the
world, the numbers of people actually killed by terrorist attacks
has remained low. Terrorism only killed 13,000 in 2010, a
relatively low number when compared with other types of violent
death, namely armed conflict and interpersonal violence.
Rational motives
 terrorist groups make calculated decisions to engage in terrorism, and moreover, that
terrorism is a "political behavior resulting from the deliberate choice of a basically
rational actor.“
1. Situational factors: This can be subdivided into two parts; (1) conditions that allow
the possibility of radicalisation and motivate feeling against the 'enemy', and (2)
specific triggers (events) for action.
2. Strategic aims:Long-run; political change, revolution, nationalists fighting an
occupying force, minority separatist movements
 Short-run; recognition or attention to advertise their cause
 Disrupt and discredit the process of government
 Influence public attitudes; fear or sympathy
 Provoke a counter-reaction to legitimise their grievances
3. Individual motivations: This is concerned with psychology and the character traits of
terrorists; why do individuals turn to terrorism in the first place? does a 'terrorist
personality' or 'terrorist predisposition' exist?
The war on terror

 One major consequence of the rise of international terrorism,


particularly Islamic extremist groups, has been the global War on
Terror. The War on Terror, which began in 2001, has so far seen
the full-scale invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other
operations in Yemen, Pakistan and Syria.
The internet

 The internet has become a central tool for terrorists, largely


replacing print and other physical media. It has allowed terrorist
organisations to costlessly communicate their message and aims
to the world, allowing them to recruit new members, coordinate
global attacks and better evade surveillance. The terrorist group
known as the Islamic State (also, ISIS and ISIL) are arguably the
first to harness the power of the internet and social media. Their
well-organised online propaganda campaign has seen them
recruit thousands of foreign fighters.
THANK YOU!

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