Terrorism Flashcards
a key issue with terrorism
there is no universally agreed definition, so broad and complex and determined by perspective. ‘one man’s terrorist…’
the UK legal definition of terrorism is…
Actual or threatened acts of violence against people /property designed to influence the government, or to intimidate the public or to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
4 key distinctions between terrorism and violence…
Wilkinson, 2006
It is always premeditated
It retains a symbolic element
It is (usually) considered to be extra-normal
It is used to influence political behaviour
state sponsored terrorism can be … and …
internal - fighting domestic policy
external - fighting foreign policy
ethno-nationalist terrorism is…
fight to separate their group from the rest of the society, as a response to the real or imagined historical victimization incurred to them by the majority (Spain)
new terrorism refers to…
the quality and quantity of the threat has changed, compares the IRA to ISIS
what are CBRN threats?
weaponized or non-weaponized Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear materials that can cause great harm and pose significant threats in the hands of terrorists.
Terrorism looks like…
The indiscriminate and random killing of persons, especially civilians and non-combatants, and instilling FEAR
- Assassinations,
- The emphasis on the surprise nature of attacks,
- The quest for shocking the community through media coverage,
- The existence of a self-proclaimed political agenda or “cause” to justify those attacks.
determining the offender is difficult because…
is the individual solely to blame? or others who facilitated/provided materials/funded the attack? or passive members of the public who knew and did nothing? or the forces that compelled individuals to act eg. detainees held unjustly in USA prison camps in Iraq
terrorists strike at a variety of targets…
to spread fear, “no one is safe” and so governments struggle to anticipate their next move
from an economic point of view…
terrorists maximise fear with minimal resources used, forces government to spend huge amounts protecting various ‘vulnerabilities’ and erratic nature of attacks = scared public
Transnational terrorist incidents are
actions conducted by terrorists or authorities in one country may impose uncompensated costs or
benefits on people or property of another country e.g. 9/11 didn’t just affect USA - it was the World Trade Centre
occasional incidents with lots of casualties =
widespread fear of a low-level personal threat, more likely to die in a car crash than by a terrorist
Game Theory is…
deals with decision making in conflict situations, where both sides anticipate what the opposition will do next and perform cost benefit analysis on the possible options known to them - each side develops new strategies and counter measures
Piven (2002) the individual terrorist…
terrorists have low self esteem, lack of empathy and are preoccupied with power - but are all terrorists psychologically disturbed?
victims of terror differ from normal victims?
could be individual victims such as hostages or assassinations, civilians caught in the crossfire between fighting forces, victims of large-scale bombings, hijackings etc.
Primary victims
are those who directly suffered harm from the terrorist attack, including those who experience property damage (economic loss) due to violent acts e.g. bomb damage
Secondary victims
consists of dependants or relatives of the deceased and first responders to acts of terrorism
tertiary victims
the general public affected by the attack, people living in fear
restorative justice is difficult with terrorism…
either because the offenders die, and because they have already accepted responsibility for their action
the response to crime should repair as much as possible the harm suffered by the victim;
offenders should be brought to understand that their behaviour is not acceptable and that it had consequences for the victim and the community; offenders can and should accept responsibility for their action;
victims should have an opportunity to express their needs and to participate in determining the best way for the offender to make reparation and the community has a responsibility to contribute to this process.
Hillyard (1993) suspect communities
people are suspected primarily because they belong to a suspect community, they share similar characteristics as known ‘offenders;’ - such as race or religion
Pantazis and Pemberton (2009) argue that Muslims have replaced the Irish as the main focus of the government’s security agenda…
and argue that the categorisation of Muslims as suspect may be serving to undermine national security rather than enhance it - spreads fear, prejudice and violence
Greer (2010) argued against Pantazis and Pemberton (2009)
argued that while there is evidence that certain individual Muslims, and certain Muslim organisations,networks and neighbourhoods, are, and have been, under official suspicion, there is no evidence that this is systematically based on Islamophobia or that being a Muslim is in and of itself sufficient to arouse official suspicion or that the majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom are under official suspicion
