Sociology Essay on Terrorism

This essay discusses in detail the reasons why terrorism is so difficult to define and identifies the different types of terrorism that are in existence today. It concludes by analyzing the various law enforcement and structural approaches to combat terrorism today.

Running Head: SOCIOLOGY ESSAY ON TERRORISM
Sociology Essay on Terrorism
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY ESSAY ON TERRORISM
Terrorism in its broadest sense refers to the intentional use of indiscriminate violence
with the sole purpose of generating fear among large groups of people in order to achieve a
financial, religious, ideological or political aim. The term terrorism is one that is primarily
used to allude to the violence that is carried out against non-combatants during war and
against peacetime targets when there is no war. The concept of terrorism maybe traced back
to the period of the French Revolution, which took part in the latter half of the eighteenth
century. However, it gained mainstream popularity following the Beirut Barrack Bombings in
1983, the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the Bali Bombings in 2002.1 This essay discusses
in detail the reasons why terrorism is so difficult to define and identifies the different types of
terrorism that are in existence today. It concludes by analyzing the various law enforcement
and structural approaches to combat terrorism today.
Terrorism is a well-known global phenomenon that can be recognized with ease but
which is quite difficult to define. Researchers and scholars around the world describe
terrorism in accordance with their political and socio-economic conditions. Those who are
impacted severely by economic and social problems tend to conceptualize terrorism as the
conflict that transpires between haves and have not’s in society while those who experience
the use of terrorism for gaining political mileage always regard it to be a political
phenomenon.2 The word terrorism, is one that is apparently interpreted to suit diverse
interests. There are countless definitions of terrorism. Each definition appears to be correct
when viewed from its own perspective but usually lacks certain important aspects that are
associated with terrorism. Thus, all the definitions that are there on terrorism do not
uniformly represent all the different components of terrorism. If these definitions were to be
analyzed in totality, then an acceptable definition of terrorism could perhaps be evolved.
1 Jongman, Albert J. Political terrorism: A new guide to actors, authors, concepts, data bases, theories, and
literature. Routledge, 2017.
2 Jenkins, Brian M. "International terrorism: A new mode of conflict." International terrorism and world
security. Routledge, 2015. 23-59.

2SOCIOLOGY ESSAY ON TERRORISM
Myriad interpretations of terrorism do not just serve to complicate the definition of terrorism.
These multiple interpretations of terrorism enable the perpetrators of terrorist acts to escape
on grounds of freedom fighting and economic deprivation. In fact, the political system
continues to be pervaded by terrorism today as there is no proper or acceptable definition of
terrorism as such, as a result of which punitive action cannot be taken against the perpetrator
of terrorism either by international organizations or by the government.3
There are five different types of terrorism that are in existence today.4 The first of
these is state sponsored terrorism. This refers to the terrorist acts that are carried out one
government or state by another government or state. The second category of terrorism is
dissent terrorism in which terrorist group’s rebel against the government in their country of
birth or residence, or both. The third type of terrorism is Right and Left terrorism, which
essentially refers to terrorist groups that are rooted deeply in political ideology. The fourth
category is religious terrorism, where the terrorist groups are completely motivated by
religion and the fifth and final category is criminal terrorism, which refers to terrorist acts that
are used for aiding crime as well as criminal profit.
While terrorism is essentially a global problem, it also is in many ways a local one.
The individual terrorists tend to often be linked to the communities that they hail from, in
terms of ambitions, targets and resentments. A crucial aspect of counter terrorism therefore is
making local communities feel completely at ease with the law enforcement agencies. The
programs that encourage this tend to be under-researched and under-developed however. The
crux of the law enforcement approach to terrorism is community policing.5 Community
outreach officers wear casual clothes and connect with civilians including women and
3 Rapoport, David C. "The four waves of modern terrorism: David C. Rapoport." Terrorism Studies. Routledge,
2013. 63-82
4 Martin, Gus. Understanding terrorism: Challenges, perspectives, and issues. SAGE publications, 2017
5 Institute for Economics and Peace. Global Terrorism Index 2014: Measuring and Understanding the Impact of
Terrorism. Institute for Economics and Peace, 2014

3SOCIOLOGY ESSAY ON TERRORISM
children in order to be on the lookout for efforts undertaken by terrorist groups to recruit a
certain portion of a country’s population for radical and terrorist activities. The community
outreach officers meet as well as establish interpersonal relationships with leaders of the
community, thus opening communication channels. The community outreach officers build
trust by carrying out honest and open dialogue on sensitive issues like discrimination, hate
crimes and terrorism. They educate communities about such crimes, and also offer to help
both individuals as well as communities respond to the problems that they are facing in the
present moment.
Some of the structural approaches to terrorism include rehabilitation, legal
prosecution, prevention and international cooperation. The structural approach to terrorism
pre-supposes close coordination and close cooperation among various policy areas and
different actors. These are the intelligence services, the Ministry of Defence, Communities,
regions and municipalities, financial intelligence processing units, public prosecutors offices
as well as the federal and the local police. These policy areas and actors are committed to a
number of common causes. Such causes include the protection of citizens as well as
infrastructure from terrorist attacks, the dismantling of terrorist networks, combating terrorist
financing, the prosecution, punishment as well as reintegration into society of those caught
engaging in the perpetration of terrorist offences, and the countering of violent extremism or
radicalization.6 They are also committed to providing support for those who are helpless
victims of the terrorist acts.7 The process of international cooperation is one that entails the
provision of relevant information regarding ongoing global developments designed at
combating terrorism as well as the monitoring of cooperation and collaboration with
international partners. 8
6 Heath-Kelly, Charlotte. "Counter-terrorism and the counterfactual: Producing the ‘radicalisation’discourse and
the UK PREVENT strategy." The British journal of politics and international relations 15.3 (2013): 394-415
7 Sageman, Marc. "The stagnation in terrorism research." Terrorism and Political Violence 26.4 (2014): 565-
580.
8 Katz, Cindi. "Banal terrorism." Violent geographies. Routledge, 2013. 355-368

4SOCIOLOGY ESSAY ON TERRORISM
Thus, terrorism is a complex and brutal phenomenon that proves difficult to define. It
exists in a number of different forms and can be combated using law enforcement and
structural approaches that are well organized and well executed. The process of terrorism
continues to baffle scholars, government authorities, law enforcement agencies and law
practitioners due the very deep-rooted hatred that causes such crimes to take place.

5SOCIOLOGY ESSAY ON TERRORISM
References
Heath-Kelly, Charlotte. "Counter-terrorism and the counterfactual: Producing the
‘radicalisation’discourse and the UK PREVENT strategy." The British journal of politics and
international relations 15.3 (2013): 394-415
Institute for Economics and Peace. Global Terrorism Index 2014: Measuring and
Understanding the Impact of Terrorism. Institute for Economics and Peace, 2014
Jenkins, Brian M. "International terrorism: A new mode of conflict." International terrorism
and world security. Routledge, 2015. 23-59.
Jongman, Albert J. Political terrorism: A new guide to actors, authors, concepts, data bases,
theories, and literature. Routledge, 2017.
Katz, Cindi. "Banal terrorism." Violent geographies. Routledge, 2013. 355-368
Martin, Gus. Understanding terrorism: Challenges, perspectives, and issues. SAGE
publications, 2017
Rapoport, David C. "The four waves of modern terrorism: David C. Rapoport." Terrorism
Studies. Routledge, 2013. 63-82.
Sageman, Marc. "The stagnation in terrorism research." Terrorism and Political
Violence 26.4 (2014): 565-580.