You are on page 1of 20
10 CHAPTER International Terrorism: Non-statg Actors and State Terrorism— Developments Post-9/11 Shivali Aggarwal LEARNING OBJECTIVES * To elucidate and assess the concept of global terrorism * To examine the factors behind terrorism * To understand the role of state and non-state actors in Promoting global terrorism * To analyse the relationship between globalization and the spread of international terrorism * To explain if there is a way to combat terrorism, especially when there are allegations that the United Nations has proved ineffective in this regard till now s, security matters. Globally, there are many issues which are areas of concern for the people across the border. Terrorism is one such issue and it consists of threats, violence or intimidation to Coerce a government, group or society in general. It isan internationally accepted fact that terror ism has expanded to a major part of the world. It is a point of fear and a challenge to humtankind. World history speaks about two world wars fought during the twentieth century and terrorism cin be counted as the third world war against humankind. With the fast spread of globalization, terrorism has also taken its place at the international level. There are different forms and objectives of terrorism in different pats of the world; however, the ultimate outcome is violence and the mass killing of innocent civilians. Global terrorism is broadly defined as acts of crime or violence intended to fthes political, religions or political ideologies. After the end ofthe cold wa, conflicts between civilizations straggling fi ence ona new world order posed the greatest danger for iteratona tabilty and pee (uni6 y International Terrorism: Non-state Actors and State Terrorism—Developments 199 993) Alor the Second World War, the cold war between the two major economic powers ofthe world, that iss the United States of America (US) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), introduced the global terrorism and, over a period of time, the present form of global terrorism evolved to incorpo fate 2 eigious angle. “Today, only a few countries may claim immunity from terrorist attacks. The people of the post-cold war era have grown up with—and almost become used to—a perspective where acts of terrorism are tragically part of someone’ daily life. fit does not affect us directly, we see the outcome on other people through media. tis not wrong to call the present era an era of terrorism or even an age of fear (Acharya 2004, 3). Fear pas almost affected all parts of our lives, from the mind up to our international and global environment. International relations are now not just about power politics but also about fear politics. We live in a world where power is no longer an adequate guarantee against fear. In fact, power begets fear. The more werful a nation is, the more fearful it becomes. Terrorism is not a new phenomenon of this era. somehow, people throughout history have been facing this phenomenon. It has just expanded its geo- azaphical and so-called ideological space in the era of globalization. We can also refer to this as the ‘globalization of terrorism. The reasons for the globalization of terrorism are modernization, developments in technology and communications and ease of transportation. The connection of globalization to terrorism has been explained in this respect. As the previous tools of diplomacy and military measures have started to lose their validity, international cooperation and law have emerged as the tools to fight against terrorism. since terrorism is a phenomenon that cannot be totally abolished, the best way to minimize terrorism is the use of international law with necessary organizations established to bolster cooperation at the inter- national level. Many countries, including India, have been victims of terrorist activities since many decades, but globally, the debate over terrorism gained a louder voice after the 9/11 attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Global terrorism has many issues interlinked to it, such as illegal activities, corrupt practices, black money, the defence weapons business, international relations and political issues in some countries. Over the decades, from the cold war to the 9/11 attack and the Iraq war and to the present scenario, terrorism has frequently changed its objectives and forms. The present chapter is an attempt to reach the root cause of global terrorism, its form, funding, objectives, measures to eliminate it and its effect on international relations. Understanding Globalization and Terrorism What Is ‘Globalization’? This can be described in many ways and the simplest definition is that globalization is the free movement of goods, services and people across the world in a seamless and integrated manner. ‘The world is becoming a global village where nothing seems to be too far, neither the people, nor the places, Technological advancement has contributed to this a lot. Life expectancy has increased, better medical facilities have made us able to live longer and stay healthier. Business houses are finding new markets for their products; customers are benefiting from the foreign products and services. Everything looks better, even perfect in the era of globalization. 200 SHIVALI AGGARWAL ism’ What Is ‘Terrorism’? means ‘great fear’ There is no inte The term ‘terrorism’ is derived from the Latin word #er7er": ee (UN) fails on this point: They coulg nationally accepted definition of terrorism. Even the United Nat speaking of the practical difficulty, it jg not frame one internationally accepted definition of terorism different meanings for different people, hard to define ‘terrorism’ in one single definition. Terrorism has © ve different objectives. Some The simple reason is that in different parts of the world, terrors Je words, we can describe terrorism have a religious purpose and others have political motives: Im STO the orders of the terrorists as an activity or a movement to create the fear of life in human beings, je and this may be under any r eli, We can also say that terrorism means violence, blood, killing of peoP gious influence or may have a political motive. a cribed terrorism The US intelligence agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation aes descr 5 ae “unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intim ANS OT) pa a a civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or bi 2 f the terrorists This definition can be considered as an inclusive one, with most of the objectives of the terrorists represented. i The United Kingdom (UK) Terrorism Act of 2000 defines the term more broadly, saying that itis ‘designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public’ and can involve violence against a person, damage to property, a threat to a person's life, a serious risk to the health and safety of the public lectronic system’—now known as ‘cyberterrorism’ (The and, interestingly, ‘serious interference with an el : Day 2017). This definition covers most of the aspects of terrorism, including the modern-day terror attacks, but ignores the religious aspects intentionally or unfortunately, as religion has become the base of present-day terrorism. One of the reports by the UN on terrorism says that terrorism flourishes in environments of despair, humiliation, poverty, political oppression, extremism and human rights abuse; it also flourishes in con- texts of regional conflict and foreign occupation; and it profits from a weak state capacity to maintain law and order. This highlights the root cause of global terrorism. History of Terrorism Terrorism is not new to the world. It is believed that the term ‘terrorism’ originated out of the 1790s) French Revolution and since then it has transformed in many ways, with different m otives in various parts of the world. David Charles Rapoport, professor of political Science, in his f Fo Waves of Modern Terrorism, describes the four phi » in his famous book The Four : Phases of modern-day terrorism, the associated motives and their estimated durations (Table 10.1) (Rapport 2004), » Hhe associates mot Since its origin to the present day, terrorism has been continuot 7 sh A People are being killed from different motives and with different a disturbing the peace of the ce has pledged to fight terrorism, but even then, it is growing day by day, pee every nation of the nt agenda. In the beginning of the twenty-first century, the US witnessed on is sows the world has ahide ts in the 9/11 World Trade Center incident and, after that, almost ¢ of the biggest terrorist attac known terrorist killings. Yet the world is hardly learning anythi very developed country of the world has mistakes. 'ything from history and is not correcting its International Terrorism, Non-state A, ‘ctors and State Terrorism Developments 201 Bream ‘Anti-colonial Religious 1990-present day | Source: Rapport (2004), Once realism. mse to talk about the competition among multiple states, but now it has started talki about the role of ‘non-state actors. Terrorism in the twenty-first century is operated mainh m a ng state actors. Realist thinking about terrorism tends to place a strong emphasis on the me ly ff e non- dichotomy. Terrorism is usually viewed a fe and non-state 's a violent challenge to the established order . group or movement, often assumed as a pursuit of * by a non-state ; Power. From this perspective, the motivations b hind terrorism are largely strategic in character. Groups use clandestine violence and focus on civilian aaa mainly because they are too weak to challenge the state openly through ‘onventional armed conflict. They attempt to exhaust or weaken the resolve of a government or regime that they cannot destroy. ‘The crucial feature of the realist approach to terrorism is nevertheless that, being an attempt to subvert civil arder and overthrow the political system, the states response to terrorism should be uncompromising (Heywood 2011, 287). Liberals, like realists, tend to view terrorism as an activity primarily engaged in by non-state actors. Liberals are more inclined to emphasize the role of ideology rather than simple power seeking. A key factor in explaining terrorism is therefore the influence of a political or religious ideology that creates an exaggerated sense of injustice and hostility, and so blinds the perpetrators of violence to the moral and human costs of their actions. However, liberal thinking about terrorism has tended to be dominated by the ethical dilemmas that are posed by the task of counterterrorism. The liberals typically view terrorism as an attack on the very principles of a liberal-democratic society—openness, choice, debate, toleration, and so on (Heywood 2011). There are two main critical perspectives on terrorism. The first reflects the views of radical theorists such as Noam Chomsky and Falk. In their view, terrorism amounts to the killing of unarmed civilians and it is something that is engaged in by both states and non-state actors. State terrorism (‘wholesale terrorism”), indeed, is much more significant than non-state terrorism (‘retail terrorism’), because states have a far greater coercive capacity than any non-state actors. Terrorism is thus largely a mechanism through which states use violence against civilians either to maintain themselves in power or to extend Political or economic influence over other states. In this respect, particular attention has been focused on terrorismis role in promoting US hegemony, the US being viewed as the worlds ‘leading nt ee (Chomsky 2003). The alternative critical perspective on terrorism is shaped es — aoe Structuralist thinking. It is characterized by the belief that much, and Pose es “ a ‘nowledge about terrorism amounts to stereotyPe® ma andy litical causes as non-legitimate, 9 political construct. ‘It is typically used to oon ec oe sense (Heywood 2011, 287). associating them with the image of immorality and wanton viol 202 sHivaLi AGGARWAL an tiiea Behind Terrori: ¢ behind terrorism, that is, the Social In the present day. broadly, there are three well recognized eee be recognized as a hybrid fac factor. the economic factor and the political factor. The fourth one or, “lubbing together religions and political motives Social Factor Some othet possible variables may be related to social issues. Levels of education hme! ae im 2 few different studies, But this thought has limitations as many teror val sepect that wenn ™ “fiware engineers to the noble profession of teaching, Religion is another social aspect tat need tobe

You might also like