🌎| 1. Causes of Terrorism

Question 1

Causes of Terrorism

Answer 1

• Nationalism
• Revenge
• Religious Extremism
• Poverty (Vulnerable Areas & People)
• Political Events

Question 2

Nationalism

Answer 2

• One cause of terrorism is nationalism.
• Terrorist attacks carried out by individuals or groups with nationalist ideas have often stemmed from the aim to improve the conditions of their area, and have resorted to violence to achieve this. Some nationalists may also hold the belief that their nation is superior, leading to racist views on immigration and foreign policy.
• For example, in 2016 MP Jo Cox was shot and killed by terrorist Thomas Mair. This was because Mair held far-right British nationalist beliefs which clashed with Cox’s liberal views on immigration and the EU.

Question 3

Revenge

Answer 3

• One cause of terrorism is revenge.
• Some individuals and groups carry out attacks in response to military actions from powerful states - they seek revenge.
• For example, in April 2020 Mohammed Sharif was involved in a terror attack carried out by ISKP in Kabul. His reason for joining the group was that the US had invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, which led to his older brother being killed by an American drone strike in 2019.

Question 4

Religious Extremism

Answer 4

• One cause of terrorism is religious extremism.
• Acts of terrorism can be motivated by religious means, and religious extremists believe that their religion justifies certain acts of terrorism.
• For example, MP David Amess was killed during a consituency surgery in October 2021. His murderer was said to have had both religious and idealogical motivations.

Question 5

Vulnerable Areas

Poverty

Answer 5

• One cause of terrorism is poverty.
• Terrorism is commonly found in financially deprived areas of the world, such as the Middle East and Africa, which is likely due to a lack of security and subsequent vulnerable state.
• For example, In January 2022 a car bombing killed eight people in Somali’s capital city of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab, a group linked to Al-Queda, claimed responsiblity for the attack.

Question 6

Vulnerable Individuals

Poverty

Answer 6

• One cause of terrorism is poverty.
• Some terror groups will resort to preying on vulnerable people in order to recruit them. These people can be vulnerable due to unemployment or a lack of opportunity, and can be incentivised into committing terrorist attacks for financial gain.
• For example, it has been reported that Daesh pays its recruits up to $1000 a month, which demonstrates potential financial incentives for recruits.

Question 7

Political Events

Answer 7

• One cause of terrorism is political events.
• Terrorist attacks can be committed as a violent response to political events, due to distress or strong disagreement with a governments decision.
• For example, Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US capitol in January 2021 in response to Joe Biden’s election as president in November 2020.