World Issue - Terrorism

Question 1

How is terrorism defined?

Answer 1

Terrorism is a method of coercion that uses violence in order to scare people and achieve their political or ideological goals.

Question 2

Give 5 reasons why people commit terrorist acts

Answer 2

• Media influence
• Power
• Peer Pressure
• Revenge
• Exclusion from society
• Money/Economic Benefits
• Poverty
• Lack of Education
• Radicalisation
• Religious views
• Moral views
• Political ideologies
• Nationalism
• Family upbringing
• Indoctrination

Question 3

Explain & give an example of how peer pressure can be a social cause of terrorism

Answer 3

• Some people, in particular young people, are more likely to be
  pressured by those around them to join a terrorist organisation.
• They may feel pressure to join if their friends and family are members of the group and they are being convinced to join them as well.
• The Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Science says that social networks and friendships are the deciding influence in radicalising young British Muslim men and making them go to Syria

Question 4

Explain & give an example of how ideological beliefs can be a social cause of terrorism

Answer 4

people may commit an act of terror against a group of people they have a problem with. this ideology could be racism.

in 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof killed 9 black worshippers in a church in the USA because of his racist ideology

Question 5

Explain & a give an example of how religious beliefs can be a social cause of terrorism

Answer 5

people may be angry when parts of the world do not follow the same religious beliefs as them and carry out terrorist attacks to bring attention to their cause.

ISIS carried out an attack in a supermarket in NZ in 2021 to show that they don’t approve of the western way of life in NZ

Question 6

Explain & give an example of how social exclusion can be a social cause of terrorism

Answer 6

people may be excluded from society and feel like they are not a part of anything, and so they join a terrorist group to make them feel like they have a sense of purpose,

the guardian states: “young Syrian men also said that joining armed groups provides a strong sense of purpose”

Question 7

Explain & give an example of how poverty can be an economic of terrorism

Answer 7

people in poverty may have a lower quality of living and may get frustrated because of their situation, and so they turn to terrorism to show that they are angry and demand change to improve their lives.

ISIS have taken advantage of areas in Chad and Cameroon with huge levels of poverty to recruit young men who want to change their situation and earn income.

Question 8

Explain and give an example of how unemployment can be an economic cause of terrorism

Answer 8

terrorist groups have taken advantage of those who are unemployed and unable ti support themselves financially by offering them money to join their organisation.

Boko Haram have recruited thousands of soldiers in Africa by providing them with a job and an income so they can provide for their family.

Question 9

Explain & give an example of how retaliation can be a political cause of terrorism

Answer 9

terrorist attacks are often orchestrated as a retaliation towards something they feel has wrongly been done to them. they carry out these terrorist attacks as a form of a revenge against the people or country that they believe bad wronged them.

in 2015 ISIS carried out a mass shooting in Paris, killing 130 people, which they claimed was retaliation for the airstrikes carried out by France in Iraq & Syria

Question 10

Explain & give an example of how political beliefs can be a political causeof terrorism

Answer 10

if a person or group feels that someone is going against their political beliefs they may carry out a terrorist attack against them to being attention to their cause.

in 2016, MP Jo Cox was murdered by Thomas Mair because he disagreed with her political support of immigration and the EU.

Question 11

Explain & give an example of how nationalism can be a political cause of terrorism

Answer 11

people may feel as though their rights to be independent are being denied and they feel as though they cannot achieve their goal peacefully so they can turn to violence.

for decades the IRA have been fighting for a united Ireland, free from British rule. they have been responsible for many bombings used to bring attention to their cause, as recently as 2019 they claimed responsibility for planting a car bomb, attempting to kill British police officers.

Question 12

Explain & give an example of how physical health can be a consequence of terrorism

Answer 12

• arguably, the biggest impact of terrorism is loss of life.
• after the 2017 manchester terror attack, 23 lives were lost.

Question 13

Explain & give an example of how mental health can be a consequence of terrorism

Answer 13

• survivors of terrorist attacks may experience metal health issues; fear, shock, anxiety, guilt & self-blame.
• many survivors of the 2015 paris attack were reported to have developed PTSD/anxiety due to the trauma of the attack.
• 12.4% suffered from PTSD
• 11.2% suffered from anxiety

Question 14

Explain & give an example of how Islamophobia can be a consequence of terrorism.

Answer 14

• After terror attacks, it is common for hate towards Muslims to increase.
• After the 2017 Manchester Attack, hate crimes towards Muslims increased by 500%.

Question 15

Explain and give an example of how poverty can be a consequence of terrorism.

Answer 15

• There is a close link between countries that have high levels of poverty and countries that are more likely to experience terrorism.
• Nigeria and Yemen are in the top 7 most likely countries to experience terrorism, and both have over half of their population living in poverty.

Question 16

Explain and give an example of how decrease in tourism can be a consequence of terrorism.

Answer 16

• Terror attacks happening in can lead to less people choosing to travel to that country.
• After the Tunisia 2015 Attack, tourism to Tunisia decreased by 25%.

Question 17

Explain and give an example of how demanding change can be a consequence of terrorism.

Answer 17

• After terrorism occurs, it is common for governments to face backlash and people demanding more to be done to prevent terrorism.
• After the 2011 Norway attack, a study shows that the results of elections buffer against the negative effects of terrorism.

Question 18

Explain and give an example of how an increase in far-right support can be a consequence of terrorism.

Answer 18

• Far-right political parties are the most likely to benefit from terrorist attacks.
• After the 2015/16 France attacks, there was an increase in far-right support.

Question 19

Explain and give an example of how defence costs can be a consequence of terrorism.

Answer 19

• Governments must spend a lot of money preventing terrorism and fixing damages after attacks occur.
• The world spends $117B on terrorism.

Question 20

Explain and give an example of how displaced people can be an impact of terrorism.

Answer 20

• Terrorism can cause destruction to people’s homes, and thus cause them to become displaced - there has been a huge increase in this.
• In 2015, the UN stated that 60M people were displaced forcibly worldwide - the highest level since WWII.

Question 21

Explain and give an example of how political instability can be an impact of terrorism.

Answer 21

• Terrorism can cause the government to lose support, thus creating instability.
• In Yemen, the AQAP has created uncertainty for the government.

Question 22

Explain how threat levels is a method of UK counter-terrorism and how it reduces terrorism.

Answer 22

It warns police and the public about how likely a terrorist attack is, meaning it can be prevented if it is highly likely while also ensuring the public has knowledge that an attack is possible.

Question 23

Explain how the government watching people with suspicious activity is a method of UK counter-terrorism and how it reduces terrorism.

Answer 23

This means that if any person is looking up suspicious things that could be dangerous, such as; ‘how to make a bomb’ or ‘far right extremist groups’ they can be watched online to make sure they aren’t planning something dangerous.

Question 24

Explain how armed police is a method of UK counter-terrorism and how it reduces terrorism.

Answer 24

These are stationed at places like airports where terrorist attacks are most likely to happen, they’re there to protect the public and watch over to make sure no suspicious activity such as; people whispering, people clinging onto their bags hard, people holding suspicious-looking packages ect. is happening in the area they are in.

Question 25

Give 3 examples of non-military methods to counter terrorism.

Answer 25

• Concrete structure outside Arsenal Stadium to prevent cars driving into the stadium.
• High curbs outside airports to prevent people driving their cars into them.
• Barrier in between the road and path on the London Bridge to prevent cars driving into pedestrians.
• Cockpits on airplanes lock to ensure no one can hijack the plane.
• At the SSE Hydro, there is security checks to make sure no one can bring dangerous items in.

Question 26

Give 3 reasons why the government may be unsuccessful when responding to terrorist attacks.

Answer 26

• Not arriving to the location fast enough.
• Underestimating the severity of the attack.
• Not bringing the correct equipment to stop that attack.
• Oversharing on social media.
• Budgets spread too thin.
• Terrorist organisations may be able to adapt faster than the government.
• Misinformation.
• Corruption.

Question 27

What are the 4ps?

Answer 27

Prepare, prevent, protect and pursue.

Question 28

Why would the UK spend money on training security personnel in relation to terrorism?

Answer 28

It is important that terrorists cannot access secret information that may help them plan attacks and so there must be trained security guards to ensure this cannot happen.

Question 29

Why would the UK spend money on cyber security in relation to terrorism?

Answer 29

Terrorists may try and hack into government files, which could get them delicate information and so it;s important that that does not occur.

Question 30

Why would the UK spend money on improved military weapons in relation to terrorism?

Answer 30

The military needs to have the best equipment in case an attack takes place and they need to protect the public.