Week 10: Violence and terrorism Flashcards
How does Kalyvas and Straus (2020) define political violence?
The use of force or coercion to achieve political ends, categorised into types such as interstate war, civil war, revolutions, state violence, genocide, and terrorism.
What are the key characteristics of terrorism?
- Use or Threat of Violence: To instill fear.
- Symbolic Victims: Targets chosen for their representation (e.g., public spaces, iconic figures).
- Psychological Objective: Focused on manipulating perceptions, not just physical damage.
- Intentionality: Premeditated acts with political or ideological goals.
interstate war
Conflicts between nation-states (e.g. World Wars)
Intrastate war / civil war
armed conflict within a country between organised groups
insurrection
revolution -> overthrowing governments
intercommunal violence
violent clashes between communities, often over ethnic or religious differences
The main goal of terrorism is not physical damage but…
psychological impact on target audience -> spread fear and insecurity
What is the difference between radicalism and extremism?
- Radicalism seeks political change and reform, often peacefully.
- Extremism rejects peaceful competition, often using violence for ideological supremacy.
What is Bale’s (2018) fundamental questions that are answered by ideologies on terrorism and extremism?
- identify the cause of flaws or injustice
- pinpointing blame (who is to blame)
- proposing actions or solutions
Ethno-nationalist terrorism
Focuses on achieving autonomy or independence for a specific ethnic or national group.
Anarchist terrorism
Seeks to dismantle state structures and authority, advocating for self-governance and anti-establishment ideals.
Left-wing terrorism
Driven by Marxist, communist, or socialist ideologies, aiming to overthrow capitalist systems.
right-wing terrorism
Advocates for ultranationalist(an extreme form of nationalism), fascist, or anti-communist agendas, often targeting minority groups
Religious terrorism
Motivated by religious ideologies or apocalyptic beliefs(belief in a catastrophic end of the world), aiming to establish a theocratic or divine order
What are David C. Rapoport’s Four Waves of Terrorism?
- Anarchist Wave (1879–1914): Dismantling state authority through violence.
- Anticolonial Wave (1920s–1960s): Independence movements targeting colonial powers.
- New Left Wave (1960s–1980s): Marxist-socialist ideologies opposing imperialism and capitalism.
- Religious Wave (1980s–Present): Focus on divine authority, exemplified by groups like al-Qaeda.
In the religious wave of evolution of terrorism, what does divine authority and apocalyptic outcome mean?
- divine authority: god-like government/authority
- apocalyptic outcome: catastrophic and world-changing outcome
what is FBI Director’s (2020) definition of “Salad Bar Extremism”?
individuals driven by a “hodgepodge of ideologies”(mix of different ideas and personal issues) that result in incoherent belief systems mixed with personal grievances.
Ideological Convergence definition in modern extremism
Suggests a merging of different ideological elements into a single, incoherent belief system.
Fused Extremism:
Indicates the combination of multiple extremist ideologies, creating a hybrid form of radicalism.
Hybrid Ideologies:
Points to the mixture of elements from various ideological frameworks, forming a new, unique set of beliefs.
Fringe Fluidity:
Emphasises the fluid and dynamic nature of beliefs in fringe movements, where ideologies shift and overlap.
Ideology a la Carte:
Refers to individuals “picking and choosing” elements from various ideologies to create their personalized extremist views.
Idiosyncratic Extremism:
Describes highly individualised and unique extremist beliefs that do not align with any established movements.
What is meant by the ‘Composite Violent Extremism’ (Gartenstein-Ross et al., 2023) and its four categories
- the increasing difficulty in categorising modern extremist attacks using traditional ideological frameworks -> makes sense of the proliferation of labels
- four categories: ambiguous, mixed, fused, convergent
What is Composite Violent Extremism (CoVE)?
A framework for understanding modern extremism, blending multiple and sometimes contradictory ideologies, categorized into ambiguous, mixed, fused, and convergent forms.
What are Anti-Government Extremism (AGE) characteristics?
- Ideological AGE: Broad opposition to governments (e.g., anarchism, white nationalism).
- Issue-Driven AGE: Focused on specific grievances (e.g., COVID-19 restrictions).
- Conspiracy Theories: Fuel distrust of governments and inspire violence.
Attacks on Politicians and Institutions: Manifested through violence and threats.
How do conspiracy theories influence extremism?
- Simplify complex societal issues.
- Rationalize opposition by blaming external forces.
- Often linked to violence, with a rise in attacks driven by such theories (e.g., QAnon, 5G conspiracies).
What is accelerationism in Anti-Government Extremism (AGE)?
A violent strategy aimed at hastening societal collapse by provoking government overreactions and exacerbating social tensions.
What characterizes anarchist conspiracy theories, and how are they different from right-wing theories?
- Focus: Anarchist theories critique systemic power and ‘techno-elite’ dominance, often targeting technological advancements or capitalism
- Right-wing theories are more organized and identity-driven, often linked to nationalism.
- Anarchist theories are less structured, emphasizing opposition to systemic and technological power structures.
Is Right-wing AGE or Left-wing AGE more lethal
Right-wing is more organised and focused on structured, identity-driven ideologies -> thus more lethal and severe
what are the two forms of AGE?
- Ideological AGE: Rejects government legitimacy entirely, often rooted in conspiracy theories.
- Issue-Driven AGE: Focuses on specific policies (e.g., COVID-19 restrictions, immigration), sometimes ceasing when policies align with their views.
what is insurrectionary anarchism?
- adopts a leaderless resistance model emphasising decentralisation and informal coordination
- conspiracy in anarchist narratives are less coherent and structured compared to far-right conspiracy theories
