Ways International Society Influences Sovereign States to Handle Terrorism
Added on 2023-01-05
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Leadership ManagementLanguages and CulturePolitical Science
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Running head: PERSPECTIVES ON SECURITY AND TERRORISM
Perspectives on Security and Terrorism
Name of Student:
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Perspectives on Security and Terrorism
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author Note:
PERSPECTIVES ON SECURITY AND TERRORISM1
Question: Discuss critically ways in which international society influences
sovereign states to handle growing threats from terrorism.
Introduction
One of the most common threats that sovereign states have to encounter in today’s
day and age is the threat posed by terrorism (Srikanth 2014, 60-68). The perpetrators of
terrorism can pursue their activities citing any ideological or philosophical justification, but
more often than not their activities are always pursued with the objective of sowing terror and
uncertainty into the minds of the citizens who reside in a particular state (Dugas and
Kruglanski 2014, 423-429). There are many ways to tackle terrorism and this essay shall take
a brief way how international society has influenced the fight against terrorism.
Discussion
Terrorism as a phenomenon can said to be as old as the recorded use of warfare in
human society (Shapir 2014, 51-57). In the past, the use of terrorism was restricted within the
bounds of military strategy, to aid the operation of regular military forces with the objective
of crippling the enemy’s morale and therefore put the enemy’s military capabilities at a
disadvantage (Abrahams and Potter 2015, 311-342). Of course, this was before any
international agreement on the procedure of conducting warfare was agreed and ratified. Ever
since the rules of war have been clearly defined and accepted by the sovereign states of the
world, terrorism is now seen as a form of war crime and an illegitimate use of lethal force,
especially against non-combatants (Arnold 2016, 137-154).
Contemporary versions of terrorism have been in existence since the 1960s (Skoll and
Korstanje 2013, 341-364), and often many terrorist activities are inspired by acts of terror in
the past. Perhaps, the group - or groups - which gave rise to terrorism as it is understood
Question: Discuss critically ways in which international society influences
sovereign states to handle growing threats from terrorism.
Introduction
One of the most common threats that sovereign states have to encounter in today’s
day and age is the threat posed by terrorism (Srikanth 2014, 60-68). The perpetrators of
terrorism can pursue their activities citing any ideological or philosophical justification, but
more often than not their activities are always pursued with the objective of sowing terror and
uncertainty into the minds of the citizens who reside in a particular state (Dugas and
Kruglanski 2014, 423-429). There are many ways to tackle terrorism and this essay shall take
a brief way how international society has influenced the fight against terrorism.
Discussion
Terrorism as a phenomenon can said to be as old as the recorded use of warfare in
human society (Shapir 2014, 51-57). In the past, the use of terrorism was restricted within the
bounds of military strategy, to aid the operation of regular military forces with the objective
of crippling the enemy’s morale and therefore put the enemy’s military capabilities at a
disadvantage (Abrahams and Potter 2015, 311-342). Of course, this was before any
international agreement on the procedure of conducting warfare was agreed and ratified. Ever
since the rules of war have been clearly defined and accepted by the sovereign states of the
world, terrorism is now seen as a form of war crime and an illegitimate use of lethal force,
especially against non-combatants (Arnold 2016, 137-154).
Contemporary versions of terrorism have been in existence since the 1960s (Skoll and
Korstanje 2013, 341-364), and often many terrorist activities are inspired by acts of terror in
the past. Perhaps, the group - or groups - which gave rise to terrorism as it is understood
PERSPECTIVES ON SECURITY AND TERRORISM2
today, are the various factions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Many of the tactics
employed by the terrorists of today were often used to great effect by the separate factions of
the IRA in the 1960s and 70s (English 2013, 496-511), a time period which is dubbed in
Anglo-Irish politics and relations as “The Troubles”. One of the most high profile attacks by
the IRA involved the killing of Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy and Governor-General of
Britain’s Indian possessions.
At the same time, various Palestinian groups had emerged with the objective of
terrorizing the citizens of the State of Israel into submission in order to make the demand for
an independent Palestinian State. United under the banner of the Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO), it carried out many an attack on both military and civilian targets
throughout the Middle East and elsewhere (Goldman 2013, 364-378). The most notorious
instance was the murder of Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics by a group
named the Black September Organization, which was alleged to be a part of the PLO. It was
their most publicized attack.
However, the modern version of terrorism developed during the Soviet intervention in
Afghanistan, between 1979 and 1989 (Hashim 2014, 69-83). To offset the amount of Soviet
influence and intervention, the USA and China armed and even trained the Mujahedeen, a
collective, umbrella-term used to describe a number of groups and factions that had united to
oust the Soviet Armed Forces out of Afghanistan (Ahmadi 2016, 9-22). It was soon that the
Afghan resistance assumed a religious tenor, as the fight of the Mujahedeen was determined
to be a jihad, an Islamic holy war (Alvi 2014, 38). This is at the point where Islamic
fundamentalists like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri were able to gather the
resources, manpower and expertise to commence operations at al-Qaeda.
today, are the various factions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Many of the tactics
employed by the terrorists of today were often used to great effect by the separate factions of
the IRA in the 1960s and 70s (English 2013, 496-511), a time period which is dubbed in
Anglo-Irish politics and relations as “The Troubles”. One of the most high profile attacks by
the IRA involved the killing of Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy and Governor-General of
Britain’s Indian possessions.
At the same time, various Palestinian groups had emerged with the objective of
terrorizing the citizens of the State of Israel into submission in order to make the demand for
an independent Palestinian State. United under the banner of the Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO), it carried out many an attack on both military and civilian targets
throughout the Middle East and elsewhere (Goldman 2013, 364-378). The most notorious
instance was the murder of Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics by a group
named the Black September Organization, which was alleged to be a part of the PLO. It was
their most publicized attack.
However, the modern version of terrorism developed during the Soviet intervention in
Afghanistan, between 1979 and 1989 (Hashim 2014, 69-83). To offset the amount of Soviet
influence and intervention, the USA and China armed and even trained the Mujahedeen, a
collective, umbrella-term used to describe a number of groups and factions that had united to
oust the Soviet Armed Forces out of Afghanistan (Ahmadi 2016, 9-22). It was soon that the
Afghan resistance assumed a religious tenor, as the fight of the Mujahedeen was determined
to be a jihad, an Islamic holy war (Alvi 2014, 38). This is at the point where Islamic
fundamentalists like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri were able to gather the
resources, manpower and expertise to commence operations at al-Qaeda.
PERSPECTIVES ON SECURITY AND TERRORISM3
The fight and struggle against terrorism has been always a collective one (Bizina and
Gray 2014), where sovereign states with a mutual interest to curb down upon and defeat
terrorism and terroristic activities resorted to share intelligence and counter-terrorism
techniques to serve mutual benefits. Many can trace the creation of dedicated counter-
terrorist units to the consequences of the Black September Organization-led Munich massacre
during the course of the 1972 Summer Olympics (Oganyan 2015, 21-26). Since then, every
country that has some amount of military and capacity have utilized its resources to the
creation of counter-terrorism units as specialized units designated to specially counter threats
and eliminate the presence of terrorists.
Often, standard counter-terrorism procedures have become embedded in the military
tactics of various armed forces all around the world, thanks in large part to the Israel Defence
Forces having to encounter terrorist threats on a regular basis (Marcus 2015, 500-528). It is
this experience that led to the development of a unique, hand-to-hand combat style dubbed as
Krav Maga. So effective and popular was this fighting style that it was readily adopted by the
major military powers in the world. Many weapons manufactured by Israelite weapon
manufacturing enterprises too found its way into the hands of non-Israeli military personnel
all around the world (Mor 2018, 1622-1636).
As terrorism assumed global proportions right after the September 11 attacks on the
World Trade Centre in 2001, it became more imperative for various nations to ramp up their
level of preparedness to encounter and eliminate any kind of threats posed by terrorists
(Braithwaite 2013, 95-101). Whereas terrorist threats in the past pertained to hijacking of
civilian aircraft or acts of random shooting on civilian targets, the scope and scale of terrorist
attacks are now carried out with a degree of military planning and precision, with the
deliberate aim to terrorize and intimidate civilians. It is thought that the state’s inability to
protect its own citizens would be the cause of more instability and chaos, which would lead
The fight and struggle against terrorism has been always a collective one (Bizina and
Gray 2014), where sovereign states with a mutual interest to curb down upon and defeat
terrorism and terroristic activities resorted to share intelligence and counter-terrorism
techniques to serve mutual benefits. Many can trace the creation of dedicated counter-
terrorist units to the consequences of the Black September Organization-led Munich massacre
during the course of the 1972 Summer Olympics (Oganyan 2015, 21-26). Since then, every
country that has some amount of military and capacity have utilized its resources to the
creation of counter-terrorism units as specialized units designated to specially counter threats
and eliminate the presence of terrorists.
Often, standard counter-terrorism procedures have become embedded in the military
tactics of various armed forces all around the world, thanks in large part to the Israel Defence
Forces having to encounter terrorist threats on a regular basis (Marcus 2015, 500-528). It is
this experience that led to the development of a unique, hand-to-hand combat style dubbed as
Krav Maga. So effective and popular was this fighting style that it was readily adopted by the
major military powers in the world. Many weapons manufactured by Israelite weapon
manufacturing enterprises too found its way into the hands of non-Israeli military personnel
all around the world (Mor 2018, 1622-1636).
As terrorism assumed global proportions right after the September 11 attacks on the
World Trade Centre in 2001, it became more imperative for various nations to ramp up their
level of preparedness to encounter and eliminate any kind of threats posed by terrorists
(Braithwaite 2013, 95-101). Whereas terrorist threats in the past pertained to hijacking of
civilian aircraft or acts of random shooting on civilian targets, the scope and scale of terrorist
attacks are now carried out with a degree of military planning and precision, with the
deliberate aim to terrorize and intimidate civilians. It is thought that the state’s inability to
protect its own citizens would be the cause of more instability and chaos, which would lead
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