This paper provides an introduction to terrorism, discussing its key features, patterns, and social construct. It explores the impact of terrorism on communities and the need for a collective response. The paper also examines the connection between terrorism and human rights.
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Running Head: TERRORISM1 INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE Terrorism Student’s Name Course Professor’s Name University Date
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TERRORISM2 Introduction While discussions about terrorism has now become part of our daily lives, the mainstream media and social media have become the key players in delivering and spreading the latest developments regarding the issue, and thus keeping the public informed and updated. Virtually everyone has his position when looking at these problematics issues. The main objective of this paper is to discuss terrorism, the social construct around it, its key features, patterns and the context of terrorism. Notably, events such as the 911 attack have made it clear to everyone that we are is a period in history where countries , even superpowers are being challenged by unorthodox ways .Such challenges can come from within a country or outside , depending on the main agenda of the perpetrators Characteristics Terror attacks are very serious crimes and are affecting every community around the world. However, even though terrorist activities are serious crimes, it is vital to note that terror victimisation is different from criminal victimisation in the sense that the former has an intrinsic political view. The political element might also involve ideological objectives. For example, the direct victim of terrorism is hardly ever the definitive target of the act .Rather the act is usually an objective that serves as an amplifier to send of the wider message that would sway a broader audience such as an opponent states of a terrorist organisation (LaFree, & Freilich, 2016). A fundamental objective of terrorism is for the public to pay attention to the message being sent out, through psychological fear due to the act. The fear invoked on people is further intensified through the victim, with the notion that “it could have been me.” Therefore, the victims of terror attacks serve a symbolic purpose of shared characteristics, which in turn forms one foundation for the selection as the victims. In that sense, terror victims as instrumental targets and not the end goal.
TERRORISM3 Politicians, the mainstream media and opportunistic islamophobias have taken an opportunity to characterise terrorism as a predominantly Islamic activity by creating a false sense of national insecurity over the “could be” Muslim terrorists with insidious outcomes. However, this is not true, as terrorism is an activity conducted by persons of all walks of life, race, and region. For instance, in the United States, there has been multiple cases of mass shooting conducted by white Christians (Ezcurra, 2019). The rhetoric of the war on terror has turned terrorists into an everyday metonym of Muslims. Therefore, the new proposition that “anyone can be a terrorist” is often translated to any Muslim can be a terrorist. Patterns Even though the term is not a matter to a collectively agreed definition, terrorism is widely agreed to be a technique of coercion that applies violence as a way of spreading fear and thus attaining the intended political and ideological goals. Nowadays, terrorism is distinguished in law from other forms of violence through the classic triangle of violence: party A attacks party B, to convince party C to change their perspective concerning some sections or policies preferred by party A. Terrorist attacks often spread panic as the activities are directed, unpredictably against innocent targets, which in turn pressures a third party such as institutions or government to amend their position. Modern terrorists use multiple forms of violence and generally target the general public or state officials among others. As argued by Campana, & Hervouet, (2013), in order to properly understand the objective of terrorist activities, we ought to understand, the fundamental triangular relationship in the strategy of all terrorists, the main target of all terrorists and the actual objective behind their actions. The real target by terrorists is not Christianity or Islam, it is an ideological push towards a country’s government which the terrorist intend to convince to
TERRORISM4 change their social, or political standpoints, through apprehensive moves that instil fear to the public. In Goode, (2016) opinion, contrarily to the state-practiced terrorism, recent patterns show insurgent terrorist who is primarily driven by social and political agendas. In addition, insurgent terrorist seek key elements that they might believe in and that forms the central basis for the accomplishment of their goals –publicity . Social construct The major social constructionist viewpoints for defining terrorism all have their legitimacy. The legalist approach necessitates a definition to legally prosecute persons that are considered dangerous. Even though the social constructionist highlights the risks of such strong demonising label, Chaliand, & Blin, (2015) argues that this definition of dangerous persons can only be possible by stripping back the basic elements. As a result, controversy about the definition will continue to grow especially in a contemporary society that applies such a dissected definition through politics and the media. Notably, the diverse nature of this approach is a huge weakness, as social constructionists often claim it enables the government to discredit those that often go against the democratic order. The natural bias that lies in politics and the mainstream media has significantly affected a fair application of the label “terrorism”. Despite multiple efforts of applying the traditionalist viewpoint, the contemporary constructivism appears best placed to evaluate terrorism. Terrorism is not a simple product if the process of social construction, There is a material reality to terrorism that is above and beyond social and legal definition. Terrorism is more than the social construct portrayed by mainstream media. There is an identifiable behavior core to terrorist behavior. If the contemporary labels were not internally consistent,
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TERRORISM5 there would be no point of understanding them as an analytical category (Arias, & Hussain, 2016). The present-day terrorism is often characterised by an increased rate of undiscriminating violence. Victims of terror attacks are not often chosen on the basis of their separate characteristics but are victims of “chance” who occur to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Terrorists, often ensure that the victims serve as an influence to third-party actors. It is partly this unpredictable and random attacks of unsuspecting victims that give terrorist activities the modern power. This power has enhanced through a set of social constrictions by the media which displays and replays the acts of victimisation ( Schuurman, & Taylor, 2018). The contemporary social construct of terrorism mirrors a shift from separate terrorism to a dimension of mass shootings and psychological warfare .That being said, terrorism attempts to convince a certain population through a fear of being hurt. Social responses The stigmatisation of Muslims as “would-be terrorists” in an ongoing feverish insecurity crisis has also translated into a blatant and full disregard by the law enforcement, political experts and the media of clear statements of incitements to violence against Muslims, openly being made on the social media platforms. Chadwick, (2011) indicates that collective blame never exists in a vacuum, it is correlated with other multiple ideas and behaviors that have increased stigmatisation of Muslims. In his study, he found that the collective blame of Muslims is directly related to the blatant dehumanisation, thinking that Muslims are less human than others (Hsu, & McDowall, 2017).It is also correlated to the support of anti-Muslimism immigration policies, and discrimination against them. People that engage in collective blame of Muslims have a higher likelihood of arguing that “the society needs to collectively ban the wearing of Islamic hijab” and we should band and “we should
TERRORISM6 restrict the establishment of new mosques.” The government would rather spend huge resources in surveillance networks particularly in Muslim-majority communities that educating the society in those communities. Fidler, (2016) indicates that “if we collectively blame an entire group for the actions of an individual, it makes it reasonable for the community to exert vengeance from any person identifying with the collective blame” (P 137). Recommendations In the long run, discriminatory anti-terrorism measures will have significant effects beyond their original scope and fundamentally shape the existing legal frameworks as well as the methods used in law enforcement. Instead of focusing on the short-term measure, collective response to terrorism ought to be based on the culture of formalism and the principle of integrity and non-discrimination. The fight against the vice should be based on a formal rule that is equally applicable to every individual who would serve as a fundamental safeguard against a common tendency to associate terrorism with certain communities and thus Putting “us” against “them.” Conclusions Efforts to address the implications of human rights issues through counterterrorism have mainly focused on the safeguard of civic and political rights, with very little focus on to the impact it might have on certain communities that have experienced collective blame on the issue over the past years. Yet it is evident that the counter-measures adopted by various countries are both influenced by collective blame and have a significant impact on the social and cultural rights of the affected individuals (Argomaniz, & Lynch, 2015). It would be hard to realize global security objectives without collectively focusing on realising a collective
TERRORISM7 human rights framework. Therefore, constructionists ought to put much effort to address the multiple connections of terrorism and the gratification of social and cultural rights.
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TERRORISM8 References Arias, E. D., & Hussain, N. (2016). Organized crime and terrorism.The handbook of the criminology of terrorism. Hoboken NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 373-84. Argomaniz, J., & Lynch, O. (Eds.). (2015).International Perspectives on Terrorist Victimisation: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Springer. Chadwick, E. (2011). Post-World War 2 Exercises of Self- Determination:“Peaceful”,“Friendly”, and “Other”. InKosovo: A Precedent?(pp. 213-247). Brill Nijhoff. Campana, A., & Hervouet, G. (2013).Terrorisme et insurrection: évolution des dynamiques conflictuelles et réponses des États. Puq. Chaliand, G., & Blin, A. (2015).Histoire du terrorisme: de l'Antiquité à Daech. Fayard. Ezcurra, R. (2019). Group Concentration and Violence: Does Ethnic Segregation Affect Domestic Terrorism?.Defence and Peace Economics,30(1), 46-71. Fidler, D. P. (2016). Cyberspace, terrorism and international law.Journal of Conflict and Security Law,21(3), 475-493. Goode, E. (2016).Deviant behavior. Retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/ADMIN/Downloads/3253641_1249218171_Goode-Erich-Deviant- behavior-2.pdf .Routledge. Hsu, H. Y., & McDowall, D. (2017). Does target-hardening result in deadlier terrorist attacks against protected targets? An examination of unintended harmful consequences.Journal of research in crime and delinquency,54(6), 930-957.
TERRORISM9 LaFree, G., & Freilich, J. D. (Eds.). (2016).The handbook of the criminology of terrorism. John Wiley & Sons. Schuurman, B., & Taylor, M. (2018). Reconsidering radicalization: Fanaticism and the link between ideas and violence.Perspectives on Terrorism,12(1).