Midterm 1

Question 1

2 Reasons it’s Difficult to Define Terrorism

Answer 1

1. No universally agreed upon definition of terrorism
2. Same method and effect in other types of violence

Question 2

What part of the brain makes us feel fear?

Answer 2

The amygdala

Question 3

How does the psychophysiology of ‘feeling terrified’ contribute to complicating definitions of terrorism?

Answer 3

The same part of the brain is activated for all sorts of violence

Question 4

How is safety connected to culture and socialization?

Answer 4

Safety comes through the socialization of learned, predictable patterns of behavior

When something occurs that wasn’t predictable, we view it as threatening

Question 5

4 ways terrorism is different from other types of violence

Answer 5

1. Not criminal violence
2. Not guerrilla war
3. Not formal warfare
4. Not violence by a mentally disturbed individual or someone who hates existence itself

Question 6

3 Characteristics common to all acts of terrorism

Answer 6

1. Victims are innocent/defenseless
2. Seizing attention through shock
3. Fear is disproportionate to physical damage

Question 7

“state monopoly on violence” meaning

Answer 7

only the state has the right to use or authorize physical force

Question 8

political status definition

Answer 8

the use of violence by those authorized to use it

Ex: Zohra Drif

Question 9

low-intensity warfare

Answer 9

the state’s use of military force applied selectively in order to force compliance with policy objectives, often fought against guerilla fighters

-arguably very similar to terrorism

Question 10

What is the dispute over the direction of violence?

Answer 10

Does the concept of terrorism only imply violence from the bottom up or does it include states inflicting violence?

Question 11

Different views on the dispute of direction of violence

Townshend:
C.A.J. Coady:
Masha Gessen:

Answer 11

Townshend: the state assumes violence by subnational groups is automatically illegal

Coady: the political status definition automatically assumes revolutionary or resistance groups’ violence is unjustifiable

Gessen: states overreact to terrorism and blow it out of proportion – should be reduced to crime

Question 12

Terrorist state characteristics (4)

Answer 12

1. Uses intimidation to discourage political opposition and dissent
2. Force on people is a national lifestyle
3. Does not allow dissent
4. Forces people to accept the state’s ideological or theological message

Question 13

Bottom-up actors

Answer 13

sub-state groups, non-state actors

Question 14

Top-down actors

Answer 14

states that are usually authoritarian and totalitarian

Question 15

What is the dispute over morality of terrorism?

Answer 15

What benchmarks do we use in order to judge the morality of terrorism?

Question 16

Views on the morality of terrorism

Walzer
Coady

Answer 16

Walzer: believes that the means can be judged separately from the ends so that morality can be judged based on action
-3 excuses for terrorism: (1)last resort, (2) they’re weak, and (3) universal resort
-supreme emergency
-does not believe terrorism is ever justified

Coady: terrorism is not always morally wrong
-argues that Walzer has a pro-state bias when judging morality

Question 17

Supreme emergency meaning

Answer 17

violence against civilians may be permissible when a state faces an existential threat from an aggressor
*should apply to state and non-state actors

Ex: WWII bombings of Germany and Japan

Question 18

What is the main moral problem of the dispute of morality

Answer 18

Collectivized guilt
- the idea that citizens of a nation may be held responsible for the actions of the state
-there is not a difference between combatant and non-combatant

Question 19

What is the main moral position of the dispute over morality?

Answer 19

We must consider the victims

Question 20

Terrorists’ interpretation of morality

Answer 20

They feel morally superior because they believe they’re sacrificing their life to achieve justice

Question 21

What is the key question for the dispute over rationality vs. irrationality?

Answer 21

What causes acts of terrorism?

Question 22

Rational camp cause

Answer 22

extension of politics by violent means

Question 23

Irrational camp cause

Answer 23

frustrated aggression and mental disturbances

Question 24

Rational because…

Answer 24

It achieves maximum effect (fear) through minimum means (cost-effective)
-doesn’t need much training or state-of-the-art weapons

Question 25

Irrational because…

Answer 25

huge risks for broadly defined goals that are unrealistic and may never happen

Question 26

Rational ideological basis

Answer 26

left-leaning analysts and thinkers

Question 27

Irrational ideological basis

Answer 27

conservative, right-leaning analysts

Question 28

What is the dispute over old or new terrorism?

Answer 28

Do our theories of terrorism still apply to current terrorism?

Question 29

Beliefs on old vs new terrorism

Martha Crenshaw
Walter Laqueur

Answer 29

Crenshaw: The terrorism we see today is not entirely new - the psychology of terrorists is still relevant. There are four traits seen among all terrorists: (1) committed to an ideological cause, (2) high personal stake in the conflict, (3) tendency towards attribution errors, (4) capable of suppressing moral constraints against harming others

Laqueur: Terrorism today is a new type of terrorism

Question 30

Two reasons terrorism today is different

Answer 30

1. Change in propaganda by the deed - there is no concrete political agenda
2. New organizational method that is composed of flat, decentralized networks

Question 31

Change in propaganda by the deed

Answer 31

-new terrorism is not a reaction to a political situation but is on the basis of belief
-old terrorists were political, pragmatic, and mostly nationalists
Old terrorism ex: FLN in Algeria and letter from Urlike Meinhof to Iranian Empress Farah Diba shows clear language
New terrorism ex: ISIS language in Dabiq references Taghut and is unclear to those not involved

Question 32

New organization

Answer 32

-decentralized flat networks that are transnational and dispersed across the world
-terrorists don’t receive direction from a leader - comes from online propaganda through a process of self-radicalization
- teaching from Abu Musab have encourages lone wolf attacks throughout Europe and America

Question 33

How does the amygdala function?

Answer 33

The eyes and/or ears send information to the amygdala, which interprets the sounds and images. When it perceives danger, it will send a distress signal to the hypothalamus.

Question 34

How is terrorism different from criminal violence?

Answer 34

-criminal acts are selfish, personal motivations such as material gain
-criminal does not intend to inflict psychological repercussions beyond the act itself
-the criminal is not concerned with influencing public opinion

Question 35

How is terrorism different from formal warfare?

Answer 35

-formal warfare is regulated by the Geneva Convention rules of jus in bello, while terrorists break these rules
-such rules included immunity for diplomats, neutral zones, no civilian hostages, uniforms
-if these rules are broken, it is referred to as a war crime

Question 36

Different from guerilla warfare

Answer 36

-those involved in guerilla warfare operate with a larger group of individuals who work together as a military unit, attack military forces, and seize and hold territory while exercising some control over the area
-guerilla fighters mimic regular armies

Question 37

Different from violence by a mentally disturbed individual

Answer 37

-their purpose differs from that of a terrorist’s (terrorist’s purpose is political while the lunatic assassin is egocentric and personal)

Question 38

propaganda by the deed

Answer 38

using violence to spread a political message

war + theater

Question 39

What are some of the benchmarks used to judge the morality of terrorism?

Answer 39

-the method
-who the violence is directed against
-the reason they resort to violence
-the future goal pursued by violence
-supreme emergency