UNIT 3 Flashcards
Defining Terrorism
The use of force or the threat of force to achieve a political end
Terror, fear and intimidation
Acts of terrorism always involve actual or intended generation of terror
Psychological coercion
Terrorism involve coercion intended to force a target audience
to comply with explicitly stated demands
Causes of terrorism
1) Permissive structural factors
2) Direct Root Causes
3)
Psychological motives for terrorism
1) A desire to be regarded as special is the most common and strong motive
2) Desire to be known to target audience is a strong motive
3) Desire to be vicariously approved of by members of one’s own reference
group
4) Desire to achieve personal congruence by aligning actions with
ideological/religious convictions
5) Desire to affiliate and be with others of a like mind
Categories of domestic terrorist groups:
1) Left wing extremists
2) Right wing extremists
3) Single-issue groups
Left wing extremists
1) Would like to see the creation of a nation in which means of production will be commonly owned;
2) Every person will receive what he/she needs and contribute what he/she can best produce;
3) Usually referred to as ‘dictatorship of the proletariat
Right wing extremists
They generally foster any number of radical beliefs, and many groups foster a strong central gov that espouses a “fascist state will all of its nationalist and supremacist philosophies”
Single-issue groups
1) Animal rights extremists
2) Environmental or ecological radicals
3) Anti-abortion activists
4) Anti-genetic & other violent opponents of “scientific engineering” such as stem cell research.
Ecological movements
1) Is a broad and loosely organized amalgam of individuals, groups and
organizations that condone radical (i.e., non-legal) actions to realize a
world in which both animals and the environment are fully respected
2) Most of their radical actions are aimed at exposing or stopping
environmental destruction and animal abuse
Animal rights groups
1) Deeply committed to their cause and difficult to trace
2) There’s no real leadership
3) Decisions are made by the groups, which tend to be loosely organised.
4) No one really knows who else is in the organisation
Agro-terrorist activities
1) Defined as the intentional introduction of a plant pathogen, virus
or another biological agent to kill crops or animals
2) Attacks on farms ranches and feedlots represent a threat because they are generally unprotected
Anti-abortion violent offenders
1) Consists largely of individuals and groups operating peacefully & within the law to end legalised abortion, or shut down clinics
2) Most illegal activities consists of disorderly conduct, “staged” arrests & letter campaigns identifying doctors who carry out abortions
The Advantages of Women Terrorists
1) Their expertise in caregiving and
auxiliary support that might be needed by the group, especially when male labor becomes scarce due to casualties or unsuccessful recruitment.
2) Strategic advantage uniquely
embedded in the imagery and social perception of feminist pacifism
3) The important symbolic value
embedded in motherhood and martyrdom or maternal sacrifice
4) Provide physical, emotional, and psychological solace to their male
counterparts, and frequently actualize their most basic biological value through
reproduction
Individual characteristics
1) They tend to be young
2) more advanced education are more likely to engage in terrorist attacks
3)
