Literature 3 - Historical Perspective

Question 1

What is Rapoport 2004 about?

Answer 1

Four waves of modern terrorism (Rapoport 2004)
‘Cycles of violent activity lasting at least a generation (20-40y) that have a distinct international (cross-border) character;

Question 2

What are the four waves of modern terrorism according to Rapoport?

Answer 2

1. Anarchism
2. Anti-colinialism
3. New Left
4. Religion
   No neat categorization, but overlapping timespans.

Question 3

Define the Anarchist wave of terrorism from the Rapoport 2004 paper

Answer 3

Wave 1: Anarchist (1860-1914)
The anarchist wave originates in Russia. There were lots of grievances in Russia, as the Russians lived under very poor circumstances with no freedom of speech. Tsar Alexander II promised change: he promised the abolition of serfdom (the status of many peasants under feudalism) and freedom of press. These promises made him popular, but when he failed to meet the promises, it backfired immediately. This added to the past grievances and revolutionary sentiment. This then caused the rise of first wave of terrorism: the anarchist wave. The anarchists were specifically targeting victims with a high political status, they also killed tsar Alexander II himself: Golden Age of assassination. Within this wave, terrorist doctrines were firstly spread as blueprint. Also known as propaganda by word. When they came to the conclusion that this had no effect, they started with propaganda by deed. An example within this wave is: Emile Henr
- Originated in Russia
- Technology enabled internationalization.
o Invention of Dynamite
- Terrorist doctrines spread as blueprint.
- ‘Golden Age’ of assassination
o Tsar Alexander II (1881)
o President McKinley (1901)
Three technological developments:
1. Expanding railway network
a. Faster transportation of goods.
2. Telegraph
a. People could send messages (revolution in communication technology) and with it the impact.
3. Weapon technology: dynamite
a. It has a higher explosive value and it is much more portable than gunpowder

Question 4

What is the Anticolonial wave according to rapoport?

Answer 4

Wave 2: Anticolonial wave: 1918-1960

The World Wars contributed to the end of the first wave and brought up the second wave. After the World Wars, the countries redraw the frontiers of eastern Europe according to the principle of national self-determination. This principle can be defined as a community’s right to choose its political destiny. An important question within this wave is are the people fighting in this wave terrorists or freedom fighters? It can be seen that terrorism was crucial to establishment of countries such as Ireland, Israel, Cyprus, Algeria, etc. Examples within this wave are: Algerian war of independence from the French & IRA
- World Wars & self-determination
o After the world war, political violence was not effective, because of the great losses in WW1 and WW2.
o This wave was mainly in colonies, mainly because of the lack of resources from European states. (Opportunity in combination with self determination)
- Terrorism crucial to establishment (Ireland, Israel, Cyprus, Algeria)
- Terrorist or freedom fighters
- Battle of Algiers
o Algerian war of independence

Question 5

What is New-Left wave according to Rapoport?

Answer 5

Wave 3: New-Left wave: (1960-1989)
After the second World War, the Utopian idea of a first world diminished extremely in the Western World. There was no political attention anymore. Inspired by Che Guevara en Yassar Arafat, the notion of revolution can be sparked by vanguard movement. The new-left were of the opinion that revolutionary potential can be created as there is a shared struggle against for example capitalism, imperialism and repression. A critical component of the rise of this wave was the fear of resurgent fascism. They thought that if they wouldn’t act now, there would be another Fourth Reich. However, these notions were also present at the opposite side of the political spectrum. They thought that left-wing would become more and more powerful. All these thoughts created a volatile environment. Examples within this wave are: FARC, Japanese Red Army, Red Army Faction, Red Brigades & Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (Turkey).
- Lack of revolutionary potential 1st world
- ‘New’ left: revolutionary potential can be created
- Shared struggle against capitalism, imperialism, repression

Question 6

What is the Religous wave according to Rapoport?

Answer 6

Geographically located elsewhere. Fourth wave of terrorism started with the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan in 1979-1989. This wave caused the internationalisation of Jihad. With the happening of 9/11, the War on Terror began. However, it is not exclusively an Islamist phenomenon. For example, Aum Shinrikyo which is a Japanese doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995. Why is this wave so long-lived? What are we not seeing? Are we so much focused on Jihadism that we are missing out on other waves? Examples within this wave are: Christian Terrorism; Ku Klux Klan, Islamic Terrorism; ISIS, etc

Question 7

What is Parker and Sitter (2016) critique on Rapoport?

Answer 7

Rapoport acknowledged that there were other groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan between 1865 and 1876, that used terrorist violence but did not fit into his template. However, he dismissed these examples as statistical outliers that had little impact on the development of terrorism over time. The more one explores Rapoport’s theory, the more it seems that he took the analogy of the wave too far.

Question 8

What is the strains model of Parker and Sitter?

Answer 8

The authors suggest a new framework for analyzing terrorism. They propose that terrorism can be divided into four different strains, and that there is an important element of “contagion” within and between these separate strains.
The four strains we have identified all date from the same period, and although they have mostly developed separately since, they do occasionally combine and mutate.
Strains - the four horseman-:

1. Nationalism
   a. Nationalist terrorism is motivated by a desire for political independence or autonomy. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Basque separatist group ETA are examples of nationalist terrorist groups.
2. Socialism
   a. This strain of terrorism is characterized by the use of violence to promote socialist or communist ideologies. Examples of socialist terrorist groups include the Red Brigades in Italy and the Baader-Meinhof Gang in Germany
3. Religious Extremism
   a. Religious terrorism is motivated by religious beliefs and aims to promote a particular religious agenda. Al-Qaeda and ISIS are examples of religious terrorist groups
4. Social Exclusion
   a. Exclusionist terrorism is motivated by a desire to exclude certain groups from society. This can include racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. The Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups are examples of exclusionist terrorist groups.