The Causes of Terrorism

Running Head: THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM

The Causes of Terrorism

Introduction

Western societies have been aware of terrorism and terrorists for a very long time. The greatest impacts of terrorism have often been viewed, however, as blips in the growth of developing countries, or an anomaly when terrorism strikes closer to home. Terrorism used to be seen as limited to the states in which the problems originated. (Whittaker, 2004, p. 13) Recently, though, the start of the 21st century has been defined by western society's awareness of the impact of terrorism and its impact on how lives are changed because of the threats of violence. The attack on the World Trade Center in September 11, 2001 not only reawakened awareness in the western world, but also reinforced the fact that terrorism has been a worldwide problem for a long time. (Lutz & Lutz, 2004, p. 2)

The causes of terrorist activities are many. Admittedly, there can be too many to comprehensively identify, because the causes are as varied as those who determine that terrorism is their only viable course of action. Reasons often fall into six categories, however. Terrorists commit acts of violence against their supposed suppressors for ethnic, nationalist, economic, governmental, philosophical, or religious reasons. Often the reasons are political in nature regardless of the impetus. If a group of people feel disaffected and powerless, they may turn towards violence to try to make their point. Understanding the causes of terrorism may lie in the definition, but those are just as various. Academics, criminologists, politicians, psychologists, and journalists all use their own definitions to espouse their views on the causes of terrorism. (Whittaker, 2004, p. 2)

A review of the literature that covers the causes of terrorism demonstrates the similarities of the many definitions that exist. This review shows that the definitions used by the several groups with an interest in studying and slowing terrorist activities haven't changed all that much, even after the attacks in New York at the turn of the 21st century. New definitions were not needed, only greater awareness and understanding. The many groups with this interest are not at odds with each other in purpose, but may have different agendas towards how to stop terrorism, and stopping the dirge of violence depends on understanding the causes and psychology of the terrorists themselves.

Methodology

A search of literature for review conducted involved a narrowing of terms to narrow the field. Database search on terms related to the causes of terrorism were used rather than just terrorism. Literature was selected that focused mostly on definition and discussion on the reasons or causes of terrorist activities. Literature that focused on stopping terrorism or discussions on policy or political statements about the subject were not selected.

In addition to the terms, dates were restricted. Only literature that was published after 1990 was selected to include in the review. The purpose of choosing to restrict the dates of publishing shows the continuum of awareness that increased over the turn of the 21st century. Narrowing this search also demonstrates that the actual knowledge of terrorism did not radically change behaviors or opinions about terrorism until after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks.

Six areas of possible causes of terrorism were selected to address in the literature. These terms and constructs were searched within the selected texts to further narrow the review on the knowledge on reasons used for terrorism.

* Ethnicity, nationalism/separatism.

* Poverty/economic disadvantage and globalization.

* non(democracy) Governmental structure/philosophy

* Disaffected intelligentsia

* Dehumanization and

* Religion.

Selected literature also needed a working definition of terrorism to use as a basis for establishing purported causes of terrorism.

Literature Review

Literature expounding on the knowledge of the causes of terrorism is helpful in understanding the phenomenon. This understanding is thought to be the beginning of controlling and stopping the spread of terrorist activities and eventually eliminating it and the fear it relies on. This understanding begins with definition.

A definition of terrorism offered by Lutz and Lutz weighs heavily with the political impetus driving desperate acts of violence.

Terrorism involves political aims and motives. It is violent or threatens violence. It is designed to generate fear in a target audience that extends beyond the immediate victims of the violence. The violence is conducted by an identifiable organization. The violence involves a non-state actor or actors as either the perpetrator, the victim of the violence, or both. Finally, the acts of violence are designed to create power in situations in which power previously had been lacking (i.e. the violence attempts to enhance the power base of the organization undertaking the actions). (Lutz & Lutz, 2004, p. 10)

The Convention of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on Combating International Terrorism defines terrorism as

Any act of violence or threat thereof notwithstanding its motives or intention perpetrated to carry out an individual or collective criminal plan with the aim of terrorizing people or threatening to harm them or imperiling their lives, honour, freedoms, security or rights or exposing the environment or any facility or public or private property to hazards or occupying or seizing them, or endangering a national resource, or international facilities, or threatening the stability, territorial integrity, political unity or sovereignty of independent States. (74) (Cohn, 2002) (OIC, p. 2)

Definitions are very similar in the literature on terrorism. The above two examples seem to