The Risk of Terrorism in Australia

This article discusses the risk of terrorism in Australia, including the reasons behind terrorism, theoretical approaches to terrorism, motivations of terrorism, and the Australian government's efforts to prevent terrorism.

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The risk of terrorism in Australia

The risk of terrorism in Australia 1
Terrorism has been the significant security issues of recent times. The world has become a
global village due to scientific development but the terrorism is still a major issue in
Australia. The reasons behind the generation of terrorism are activism, chauvinism,
regionalism and racialism. As per Coaffee, the terrorist’s act occurs out of grumble and
aggravation, religious, political and personal1. There are Islamist terrorist groups such as ISIL
and Al-Qa’ida remains to target small number of people in Australia. These groups use
internet to spread their information to the current audience and also aims at those who are
prone to radicalisation. According to Cherney & Murphy, the main terrorist threat in
Australia is from small groups of Islamist activists such as 9/11 attack2. They result in
composite attack plots and the modest procedures enable entities to act with high degree of
dexterity. These terrorists attack with the aim to impose maximum causalities or maximum
number of people are aimed to be killed during attack. The attacks cause injury to death,
disrupts to lives and cause fear. A simple attack is enough to meet these objectives. There is
National Terrorism Threat Advisory System in Australia to offer guidance about the prospect
of act of terrorism arising in Australia. According to the Dunn, et. al, 2016, Australian
government provides advice whenever the threat level changes and details on what does it
means, where the threat is impending from, probable targets and how the acts of terrorist can
be passed out3. The National Terrorism Threat Level regularly reviews the security
environment and intelligence.
The aim of terrorists is to destroy life of others, freedom and safety which are considered
basic fundamental rights. The terrorism activities generally occur out of religious, political
and personal reasons.
The theoretical approaches to the terrorism are:
1 Coaffee, Jon. Terrorism, risk and the city: The making of a contemporary urban landscape.
Routledge, 2017.
2 Cherney, Adrian, and Kristina Murphy. "Being a ‘suspect community’in a post 9/11 world–
The impact of the war on terror on Muslim communities in Australia." Australian & New
Zealand Journal of Criminology 49, no. 4 (2016): 480-496.
3 Dunn, Kevin Mark, Rosalie Atie, Michael Kennedy, Jan A. Ali, John O’Reilly, and Lindsay
Rogerson. "Can you use community policing for counter terrorism? Evidence from NSW,
Australia." Police Practice and Research 17, no. 3 (2016): 196-211.

The risk of terrorism in Australia 2
The instrumental approach: This theory explains that terrorism is a deliberate choice made by
political actors. As per this approach the intention of terrorist group is to achieve political
ends. The terrorists are not lunatics who violate but they are the tools to achieve political
ends. In this approach, the political ends are important considering some political changes.
So, the terrorist groups were able to make certain political changes than attaining political
ends. This theory also explains how the terrorist group can survive considering political
changes4. The terrorist groups are divided into the serious concerns of political ends in the
organization.
Organizational approach: As per this theory, the terrorist groups are analyzed from the
outlook of organizational theories. The aim, action and internal dynamics of the group are
described in relation to the internal organizational process. This theory suggests that the main
goal of terrorist groups is survival. This theory explains that terrorism is the result of a
group’s struggle for survival in a competitive environment. The leaders of the group provide
benefits and incentives to the individuals for the survival. According to Saha & Yap, this
theory suggests that the actions of terrorist groups are not certainly political5. It is difficult to
understand the reasons behind terrorist activities since the actions depend on the internal
dynamics of a terrorist organization. This theory basically provides visions into the internal
dynamics of terrorist groups and how these dynamics influence the activities of terrorists. It
helps in understanding the groups and their policies. It is quite complex theory and does not
provide the context in which general description can be made.
Terrorism as Political commission: This approach defines that terrorism is employed for the
communication purpose only. It is set of activities that make use of political fierceness for the
outgoing aim only. The ultimately goal is to spread political message and influence sections
of the society to do what they need. As per this approach, terrorism makes use of ferocity and
threat to induce a state of fear in the precise audience. This theory is entirely different from
the instrumental and organizational approach and focuses on the impact of terrorism6. It
4 Mullins, Sam. "Counter-terrorism in Australia: practitioner perspectives." Journal of
Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism 11, no. 1 (2016): 93-111.
5 Saha, Shrabani, and Ghialy Yap. "The moderation effects of political instability and
terrorism on tourism development: A cross-country panel analysis." Journal of Travel
Research 53, no. 4 (2014): 509-521.
6 Harris-Hogan, Shandon, Kate Barrelle, and Andrew Zammit. "What is countering violent
extremism? Exploring CVE policy and practice in Australia." Behavioral Sciences of

The risk of terrorism in Australia 3
influences the relationship between individuals and the state. This theory does not explain the
political ends of organizations and organizational aspects are treated unimportant in this
approach.
Economic approach: This theory provides insight over and beyond the political science
approach. This theory can be well clarified by 4 diverse arguments. First, the economic
analysis accounts for strategic communications among opposing interests. It includes terrorist
government and targeted nations associations in global terrorism cases. Secondly, the models
are applied to find out how terrorists respond to the policy-induced variations to the
constraints. It aims to produce specific policy instructions. Third, the theories of economics
are also useful in explaining terrorism. It is useful in understanding the laidback behavior and
failure of government7. Fourth, various empirical methods can be applied to assess theoretical
forecasts and policy endorsements.
Psychological approach: The psychological approach is linked with the learning of terrorist’s
profiles, their recruitment in the groups, faith, inspirations and profession as terrorists. The
theory focuses on the various issues within the psychological explanations. This approach
undertakes two explanations. The first describes the terrorists as mentally ill individuals and
totally different from normal individuals. Such people are considered abnormal human
beings. This theory has it’s own assumption about terrorism. The terrorists commit an act of
violence due to psychological forces. Secondly, some people adopt terrorism activities as
they consider it as fanatics. According to Strang & Alamieyeseigha people outlook the
terrorists as cool and logical individuals whose rewards are philosophical and political than
financial8. This theory characterizes terrorist’s as well educated and refined people who are
capable of using advanced bombast and political analysis. The psychological approach
reflects the link between terrorist acts and ideologies. It is not proficient at providing a
complete account of terrorist acts.
Terrorism and Political Aggression 8, no. 1 (2016): 6-24.
7 Strang, Kenneth David, and Serafina Alamieyeseigha. "What and Where Are the Risks of
International Terrorist Attacks: A Descriptive Study of the Evidence." In Violence and
Society: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice, pp. 455-476. IGI Global, 2017.
8 Strang, Kenneth David, and Serafina Alamieyeseigha. "What and where are the risks of
international terrorist attacks: A descriptive study of the evidence." International Journal of
Risk and Contingency Management (IJRCM) 4, no. 1 (2015): 1-20.

The risk of terrorism in Australia 4
A number of terrorist attacks transpired in Australia. Some of them are Battle of broken hill
(1915), Sydney Hilton bombing (1971), Family court of Australia attacks (1980-85),
Abortion clinic attack (2001), Sydney hostage crisis (2014), Queanbeyan stabling (2017) and
Mill park stabling (2018). It is not easy to find out what drives people to terrorism. Usually
the terrorists are not likely to be volunteers but there is group which leads to violence. The
terrorists tend to attempt attacks due to several reasons. The primary threat of terrorists in
Australia is basically from a small number of Islamist activists. Various Islamist terrorist
attacks aim to cause maximum casualties and targets public to be killed during attack9. Other
than the Islamists activists, individuals are also there who are motivated by the philosophical
agendas. The government and authority can also be targeted by the terrorists such as military,
police and agencies. The threat can also be caused at the overcrowded places, they are
attacked indiscriminately. Such attacks caused to injury and death. It disrupts the lives and
cause fear even with a simple attack. A terrorist act was planned in order to disrupt aviation
in Sydney in 2017 is a reminder of targeting the west. Usually in Australia, attack is done by
individuals or terrorist groups by using attack methodologies. The terrorists basically use
knives, weapons, axes and vehicles to conduct lethal attacks10. The motivations of terrorism
are:
Ethno-nationalisation: The aspiration of population to disrupt any government rules or power
forms terrorist groups. In the twentieth century, it was often viewed that people attempted to
gain independence with their regions and states. The ethno-nationalist terrorism was
prevailing even afore the First World War. It was encouraged by the failing of imperial
powers. Hamas is one of the active ethno-nationalist group which carries out the activities
9 Pathé, Michele T., Debbie J. Haworth, and Timothy J. Lowry. "Mitigating the risk posed by
fixated persons at major events: a joint police-mental health intelligence approach." Journal
of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism 11, no. 1 (2016): 63-72.
10 Tessler, Robert A., Stephen J. Mooney, Cordelie E. Witt, Kathleen O’connell, Jessica
Jenness, Monica S. Vavilala, and Frederick P. Rivara. "Use of firearms in terrorist attacks:
differences between the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand." JAMA
internal medicine 177, no. 12 (2017): 1865-1868.

The risk of terrorism in Australia 5
like suicide bombings and attacks11. It is a significant motive to terrorism and continues to
employ terrorism until the desired independent nation is achieved.
Discrimination: Many groups face discrimination in Australia, it leads to the feeling of
isolation. Such discrimination leads to more conservative and extremist philosophies. The
Muslims who migrate to other countries are subject to discriminatory social policies and
cause them to become radicalized. The people become radicalized due to isolation from being
in a foreign society. They pose threat to other countries. These people may turn out to be
jaded to society if they do not fit in the society around them.
Religion: The most common reason of terrorism now a day is religion. It plays significant
role in driving terrorism activities. The religion is a measure of terrorism and largely
attributes to the Islamic fundamentalism. The global Salafi Jihad is a revivalist programme
aiming to re-establish past Muslim glory12. The religions which encourage terrorism attacks
are more violent in nature. The terrorists are more anticipated to carry out suicide bombings.
Socio-economic status: The globalization creates severe awareness about the opportunities
available around the world. It leads to frustration, victimization and humiliation among the
uneducated, urbanized and unemployed Muslim youths who makes comparison around
countries13. The economic differences increase tension and conflicts among them. It makes
terrorist groups to gain attention and enter in societies which felt wrong by the perceived
social injustices.
Political grievances: A lack of political inclusiveness in contradiction of a particular political
order makes persons to join and form terrorist groups. The terrorists often seek to a political
system. The discouraged response of political parties turns to violence. The political
grievances are not born for the sake of creating new state but to change the order within the
current one.
11 Cherney, Adrian, and Kristina Murphy. "Police and community cooperation in
counterterrorism: Evidence and insights from Australia." Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 40,
no. 12 (2017): 1023-1037.
12 Pratt, John. "Risk control, rights and legitimacy in the limited liability state." British
journal of criminology 57, no. 6 (2016): 1322-1339.
13 Fry, Douglas. "Kāfir Pride: An examination of the recent apparent rise in Australian anti-
Islamic activity and the challenges it presents for national security." Journal for
Deradicalization 6 (2016): 105-131.

The risk of terrorism in Australia 6
Accidental Guerrilla: This theory describes that the terrorist groups preferably move into the
area with poor government and carries out violent acts. The outside forces deals with the
threat postured by this group. It causes the local residents to avoid the foreign attackers and
help with the terrorist group. It results in generating more terrorists and support for such
movements14. This theory questions the feasibility of direct intervention in detection of
terrorist groups.
The Australian government is working closely with the communities in order to prevent
terrorism. It is also making efforts to struggle terrorist information online and promotes early
intervention programmes. The authorities like federal, state and territory makes arrangement
in place and has implemented appropriate security measures. The police and agencies
coordinate with the acute infrastructure operators. The Australians are also required to
conduct daily business activities with caution and should be aware of events happening
around. If the citizens found something suspicious then they are required to contact National
security on provided contact numbers. It can be helpful attempts to prevent terrorist attacks in
Australia.
14 Ragazzi, Francesco. "Suspect community or suspect category? The impact of counter-
terrorism as ‘policed multiculturalism’." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 42, no. 5
(2016): 724-741.