Terrorism's Impact on Society

This assignment delves into the wide-ranging consequences of terrorism. It examines how terrorism affects expatriate performance, public opinion, immunity, political systems, and tourism development. The report also analyzes various factors influencing terrorism, such as regime types, political instability, and media coverage. Research findings and insights from academic sources are presented to provide a comprehensive understanding of terrorism's impact on society.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL RESEARCH
Contemporary social research
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Research questions...........................................................................................................................2
Methods...........................................................................................................................................3
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion and limitations..............................................................................................................7
Reference.........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The report is based on the effects of terrorism. Terrorism is considered as an act of
violence that results in the loss of life and damage properties. It is an unlawful attack on the
citizens of a country in return for certain demands made. Usually, these demands are in the form
of money or in the protest of some acts done against a particular individual or country (Jongman
2017). It causes a panic situation among the people and leads to the loss or lives creating mental
trauma among the people. Over the years, several reports have been made on the acts of
terrorism. Countries around the world have fallen victim to terrorist attack and that has caused a
serious concern for the Government in these countries. Recent terrorist attacks have been seen in
the United States and France for which newspapers and media played a vital role in keeping the
world aware of the attacks. The evils of terrorism can at times destroy the economy of a country
as the damage was done by this act can lead to a lot of repairing cost. The report focuses on the
effects caused by terrorism in Australia. The effects of the terrorism on the attitudes of the
Australian people form the basis of the analysis of the report. The report is based on information
collected from news journals that highlights the significant points relayed to terrorism and
provides a proper insight into the effects it can cause on the lives of the people of Australia.
Research questions
In order to conduct the research in an effective manner, it is necessary to formulate
questions that need to be answered to gain clarity on the matter. These questions provide an
opportunity to research the subject matter in detail and formulate a valid solution. The questions
formulated for understanding the topic of terrorism include:

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1. What is the effect of terrorism on the political scenario of Australia?
2. What is the effect of terrorism on the immigrant of Australia?
3. What steps are being taken by the Australian Government in order to prevent or counter
the attack of terrorism?
Methods
In order to conduct the research in an effective manner, the researcher has used a
secondary source of data collection. The researcher has gone through various news articles and
journals that provide a complete detail about the effects of terrorism in the world and in
Australia. The research has been done by checking websites that provide detailed knowledge
about the procedures and solutions that need to be done during an act of terrorism. The
secondary data of analysis is done in order to get complete details about the topic. Primary data
collection has been avoided as most people remain reluctant to talk about the ill effects of
terrorism. After gathering the data for relevant websites such as NewsComAu, the researcher
expects to analyse the data by comparing old and new facts. The comparison is made in order to
understand the ways by which terrorism have evolved over the years. This can help in providing
suggestions about the ways by which the Government of Australia can prevent the attack of
terrorism in the country. While collecting the data, the researcher had to face certain ethical
issues. These issues need to be abided by in order to cond uct the research in an ethical manner.
Some of the issues include avoiding collection of information in a forceful manner. Many
websites required an access permission in order to view the contents. Some websites remain
blocked in order to maintain the confidentiality of information. Adopting unfair means to derive
information from these websites is an ethical priority was needed to be considered by the
researcher.

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Analysis
Based on the research questions and the data collected by using secondary sources, the
analysis is done in order to understand the effects of terrorism in Australia. The act of terrorism
all over the world has resulted in an increased interest in the matter. The threat of terrorism is a
new phenomenon in Australia. However, in the recent years and in the past, countries around the
world have witnessed the destruction and terror that are caused by terrorism. Some of the
examples of terrorist attacks that have made an impact in the lives of the people include the 9/11
attack on New York, the Paris attack, the continuous attack on Israel. Kellner (2015) stated that
an individual or a group of people causes terrorism. In order to create mass impact in a country a
considerable amount of research is required. Pietsch and McAllister (2012) stated that one of the
major reasons behind terrorism is the fact that smaller countries tend to gain power and control
over the larger dominating countries. Other scholars suggest that terrorism is an act of revenge
that is inflicted by members of one country in order to create fear in the mind of the people of
other countries (Canetti et al. 2014). Both these causes indicate to the political turbulence that
exists between the countries and within a particular country.
Nacos (2016) stated the example of Thailand where terrorism occurred against the
Government due to matters related to politics and religion. In the case of Australia, it is the
attitude of the Government against terrorism that needs to be addressed. The Australian
Government is of the view that the country is free from the immediate danger of terrorism. This
is because most of the terrorist attacks in the past one year have resulted in the Western countries
like the UK or USA or France. The scenario in Australia is such that it is ranked 59th in the list of
most impacted countries in the world (NewsComAu 2017). The country lies in the middle of the
table and is affected less by the impact of terrorism in the global world. The ranking of the

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country is not a factor that needs to be worried about but the impact of that may be caused due to
the sudden act of terrorism may have a severe impact on the country.
In this regard, it is necessary that proper precautions be taken by the Government in order
to prevent the attack of terrorism. In the present scenario, such actions are not taken by the
Government owing to the low level of threat that the factor possesses on the lives of the people
in the country. Laqueur (2016) stated the general cause of terrorism is an entry of people from
different nations. It has been evidenced from past terrorist attack that people entering a country
as immigrants have formed a terrorist group and attacked that country. This group is caused due
to political or ethical issues that are protested by the people in a violent manner. As evidenced by
the words of Combs (2015), a sudden attack of terrorism in Australia can be caused due to a
large number of immigrants in the country. However, a positive factor in this regard is the fact
that the Government conducts a thorough background check of the people that are been given
migration certificates.
People visiting the country for an educational and professional purpose are also checked
in order to understand the background. This can help the country to remain free from terrorism
activities (Hunter, Bennett and Robbins 2016). Based on the evidence it can be said that despite a
proper background check, the act of terrorism cannot be maintained in an efficient manner. This
is because certain sentimental and grave factors trigger the idea of terrorism in the mind of
people. Factors such as religion or racial abuse can lead to an act of terrorism. An example can
be sorted based on this statement. In 2015, two people due to some racial or religious context
gunned down a local police officer of New South Wales. However, both the teenagers were
ultimately caught and a shootout led to the deaths of the people. This incident caused panic in the
mind of the people and the Government and the local police checked every immigrant from a

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particular ethnicity thoroughly. According to Yap (2014), this act proves that background check
of the people is not a feasible option for the prevention of terrorism. Hence, proper prevention
techniques are needed in order to combat such activities and maintain the peaceful nature of the
country.
As stated earlier, the mere background check of an individual is not a reliable method
for preventing the act of terrorism. The Government need to formulate strategies that can help in
preventing and countering the violent act. In this regard, certain laws are established that punish
the people indulged in the act of terrorism (Dunn et al. 2016). These laws are formulated by the
Government and constitute the punishments that need to be imposed on the people. However, it
is necessary to identify the act of terrorism before implementing the punishment. The offences
that may lead to the identification of terrorism include the plan and preparation of terrorism act,
providing or receiving information from terrorist gangs and so on. Committing these offences
willfully or under the influence of others can lead to the breach of Criminal Code Act of 1995.
Under this, a person may be sentenced to death or receive lifetime imprisonment for violating
any of the above restrictions. Bader and Berg (2014) suggested that this law could help in
creating awareness among the people of the country in lieu of the act of terrorism. The anti-
terrorism act also focuses on other suspicious movements that may lead to the loss for the
country. According to Jackson and Hall, (2016), it focuses on identifying any organisations that
are set up for the sole purpose of indulging in terrorism, cyber crime terrorists and financial
terrorists.
Gaibulloev, Piazza and Sandler (2017) stated that it is the Role of the Australian Federal
Police to investigate these matters and ensure that the country remains safe from such acts.
Preventing the use of the laws on a person is the primary necessity of the Government. In this

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regard, the background check of the individuals is required before providing citizenship of the
country (LaFree, Dugan and Miller 2014). This can help prevent terrorist or people suspected of
being a terrorist to enter the country. Hence, the laws and the roles played by the Australian
justice system can help in the prevention of any terrorist attack in the country. It is for this reason
that the possibility of terrorist attack is as low as 4% in the country as compared with countries
around the world (Byman 2014).
Conclusion and limitations
Hence, it can be concluded that terrorism is a brutal act that causes political, economic
and environmental damage to a country. The political attitudes and the attitudes on immigrants
are changed due to the cause of terrorism. Australian Government needs to adopt the methods in
order to prevent any damage caused by the act of terrorism. Reports suggest that with the
increase in technology, terrorist gangs gave an easy access to the knowledge required to gain
access in a country. This is a major concern for the people as technology is an important part of
the modern world. The data provide a clear understanding of the impact of terrorism and the
ways by which it can be prevented or countered. However, while conducting the research, the
researcher had faced certain limitations. One such limitation included the inability to access
protected and restricted websites. Due to the ethical consideration, the researcher was unable to
derive information from these websites. Another limitation faced by the researcher is the lack of
primary data. Secondary data does not always give a full detail or a firsthand account of an
individual. In order to understand the effects on a practical level, firsthand information was
required from the people witnessing such attacks. The research also needed a lot of expense as
the purchase of books and use of websites needed financial assistance. Despite these limitations,
the research was conducted successfully and the facts presented in the report are genuine.

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Reference
Bader, B. and Berg, N., 2014. The influence of terrorism on expatriate performance: a conceptual
approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(4), pp.539-557.
Byman, D., 2014. Attitudes Toward Political Violence: Religion and Terrorism.
Canetti, D., Russ, E., Luborsky, J., Gerhart, J.I. and Hobfoll, S.E., 2014. Inflamed by the flames?
The impact of terrorism and war on immunity. Journal of traumatic stress, 27(3), pp.345-352.
Combs, C.C., 2015. Terrorism in the twenty-first century. Routledge.
Dunn, K.M., Atie, R., Kennedy, M., Ali, J.A., O’Reilly, J. and Rogerson, L., 2016. Can you use
community policing for counter terrorism? Evidence from NSW, Australia. Police Practice and
Research, 17(3), pp.196-211.
Gaibulloev, K., Piazza, J.A. and Sandler, T., 2017. Regime types and terrorism. International
Organization, pp.1-32.
Hunter, L.Y., Bennett, D.J. and Robbins, J.W., 2016. Destabilizing effects of terrorism on party
system stability. Terrorism and Political Violence, pp.1-21.
Jackson, R. and Hall, G., 2016. Talking about terrorism: A study of vernacular
discourse. Politics, 36(3), pp.292-307.
Jongman, A.J., 2017. Political terrorism: A new guide to actors, authors, concepts, data bases,
theories, and literature. Routledge.

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Kellner, D., 2015. Media spectacle and the crisis of democracy: Terrorism, war, and election
battles. Routledge.
LaFree, G., Dugan, L. and Miller, E., 2014. Putting terrorism in context: Lessons from the
Global Terrorism Database. Routledge.
Laqueur, W., 2016. A History of Terrorism: Expanded Edition. Transaction Publishers.
Nacos, B., 2016. Mass-mediated terrorism: Mainstream and digital media in terrorism and
counterterrorism. Rowman & Littlefield.
NewsComAu. (2017). Australia’s light red shading on this map should give us pause for
concern.. [online] Available at: http://www.news.com.au/national/global-terrorism-index-
reveals-how-impacted-australia-is-by-terrorist-atrocities/news-story/
3a4a8fc53edc05dc069e5a15a2c2dafe [Accessed 28 Aug. 2017].
Pietsch, J. and McAllister, I., 2012. Terrorism and Public Opinion in Australia. Identity, Fear
and Governance in the 21st Century, p.79.
Yap, G., 2014. The moderation effects of political instability and terrorism on tourism
development: A cross-country panel analysis. Journal of Travel Research, 53(4), pp.509-521.