What is terrorism?
Terrorism is actual or threatened covert physical or destructive violence, performed indiscriminately and sporadically. Terrorist acts target the political agenda but affect the public in order to be most effective: in a democratic society, no one affects politics like the voters. Terrorist campaigns are usually ongoing to prevent media attention from wandering from the political agenda the perpetrators hold.
Terrorism can be divided into two distinct types: 'State' terrorism and 'Transnational' terrorism. State terrorism can be regarded from two perspectives - international and national. National State terrorism is a tool used by governments to control the population within its borders. It legitimises violence against the population by calling misdemeanors (fabricated or otherwise) 'civil disobedience'. Methods of state terrorism can include secret police, military action (particularly against areas of the geographical state which are not under the jurisdiction of the state), and intimidation tactics. International state terrorism is terrorism legitimised by the state against other states or groups. Action by a state against another state is commonly known as war, and shall concern us no further!
Transnational terrorism is independent of governments and usually operates in many countries. Transnational terrorist groups fight for a cause, and so are regarded differently depending on an observer's opinion - hence the expression "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". This sort of terrorism should not be confused with guerilla warfare or mafia crime, as acts perpetrated are claimed in order to get media attention for the cause for which the group is fighting. Tactics used in transnaional terrorism range from intimidation to random bombings to hostage taking to flying aeroplanes into large buildings, or threatening to do any of these.
Why is terrorism effective?
The key objective of terrorism is to produce a psychological fear and state of uncertainty among populations (and their rulers, with regards to transnational terrorism). Resulting from this fear will be political bargaining gain, awareness and support, and power for the terrorists. Margaret Crenshaw stated the importance of this:
Terrorism is designed to create power where there is none or consolidate where there is little.
The effectiveness in acquiring this power stems from two points: the effect of terrorism on the government and on the population. The fact that terrorists appear to be 'irrational' and adhere to no code of
moral conduct bar their own increases the level of fear among the population. This is added to by the "
It could have been me" idea: attacks are
indiscriminate, sporadic and public. The more fear you can create as a terrorist, the more leverage you have over the
government. This leads to the second reason why terrorism is effective: it threatens the survival of governments of regimes as their
legitimacy is eroded by their failure to protect their populations. Naturally, the more a government does to protect its citizens, the more legitimate that government regime appears to be. Still, however, terrorism is effective as it creates fear which leads to awareness of the cause and gains the terrorists poitical leverage.
Why use violent protest? Gandhi suceeded, didn't he?
Often, the violent form of protest that is terrorism is used because there is no other means available to the perpetrators. The violence can then be legitimised in the terrorist's mind as a human right to defend oneself, human nature to resort to violence, and a backlash against the authorities who break the taboo with regards to non-violent protest. Perhaps, however, the would-be terrorist has seen others in similar situations gain from the use of terrorism. In this case, violence is seen as the obvious solution. It could be that there is a genuine belief that force is required to achieve anything - again that violence is 'human nature' or a natural right. A violent act achieves far more media coverage than a non-violent one.
In the modern era, terrorism appears to be more frequent and more dramatic. This can be regarded as concurrent with the increasingly globalised society. Easier and better world communication and travel links, more advanced technology and instant global media all mean that terrorism is easier and more effective: more fear can be created in an easier manner and get wider coverage.
Said by a very wise Rabbi: Violence always represents failure as it can never form the basis of a lasting peace.