Ever since the infamous attacks in the World Trade Center last September 11, 2001, the view of the world regarding terrorism has changed forever. To counter terrorism attacks in their countries, governments of various nations have set up diverse procedures and operations that specifically aim to curb the terrorist organizations and their attacks, and to eliminate their threats once and for all. For example, airport terminals thoroughly scan passengers, malls and various establishments check the baggage of entrants, surveillance companies spy on telephone calls by civilians in order to search for suspicious activities, etc. have been utilized in order to possibly prevent these threats, to varying reception and success (“Measures Against Terrorism”).
However, these methods, while effective in managing homeland security and terrorism, can only combat so little of the impending problem that grows larger and larger every day – the problem of global terrorism. Terrorist organizations from around the world are not only targeting their local areas to terrorize and spread fear in their citizen; nowadays they are aiming for a global domain. As a result, terrorism is not only confined on a national level but also in an international level as well. Existing organizations such as al-Qaeda and ISIS targeting other countries are proofs of this fact.
In fact, global terrorism grows wider each day. For example, the terror of ISIS is not only limited to their home domain in the Middle East—the most recent noticeable terrorist attack in Nice, France turned out to be a member of the infamous group ISIS, with a probable goal to bring down the morale of the general France population—the country having the largest population of Muslim in the European region. Actually, this can be said for any terrorist organization: their ultimate goal is to sow distrust and discord among the general public so as to prevent progress and peace, which is the antithesis of their goals.
With that in mind, it should be said that our primary focus should be to shift anti-terrorism measures away from a local point of view and instead focus on a global perspective and focus instead on a global scale. In order to fully consider this, there are certain perspectives about the issue that need to be analyzed; namely, the influence of colonialism on terrorism, values and terrorism in a post-World War II era, and the civility and governance in an era of terrorism.
Terrorism and the History of Colonialism
It can be argued that terrorism stemmed from the colonialist mentalities during the early years. During that time, European explorers sought to conquer other less civilized countries in hopes of expanding their territories and resources. Some of these countries were Muslim ones, and even though the colonizers are the ones invading the homelands of these people, it is not seen as a form of terrorism due to the prevalent Eurocentric attitude during that time. Even though these countries were eventually granted independence by the European countries that invaded them, their invaders have left a mindset that is primarily fueled by hatred and disdain at the traces of the former powers that colonized them, and thus the poisonous threat of terrorism was sown and flourished in these people’s minds (Khawala).
A hatred for the attacked countries, plus a dangerous religious fanaticism—which is the norm for terrorist organizations like the Islamic State—can be summed up as one of the reasons as to why terrorism is still flourishing and kicking in a modern world where equality and tolerance are supposed to be the main beliefs. At the very core of colonialism lies the propagation of violence (Fanon 430)—violence is the reason for the countless bloodshed of the natives who are trying to defend their homeland, it is the main action carried out by the colonizers to slay those who oppose their ideals, and it is the action that these terrorists deem to be fair in order to bring justice for the atrocious events that happened ages ago.
These causes can not only be limited to colonialism; it can also be applied to ongoing issue such as global inequality and de-colonialism as well. Some of terrorist attacks see the ideals of progressive countries such as the United States and Britain as oppressive and would impede the growth of their homelands, so they see terrorism as a means to subjugate these otherwise powerful countries, as challenging them via conventional routes would yield inefficient results. The concept of de-colonialism does not fare any better as well – when countries that are previously colonized are prepared for their independence, there is still to the effect that the process is still highly influenced by Western influences, something that may cause resentment and cause terrorist attacks as well (Memmi).
Terrorism in the Post-WW II Era
Aside from the colonialist mentality, one of the factors that affect the terrorism and its accompanying perspective is the world after the World War II era. It can be said that the world was never the same after the infamous war; it changed global views on terror, peace, and other related concepts. War, after all, is a concept that is common to all cultures (Devi 446). On a more positive note, the World War has made the world aware of human rights, the right to independence by countries, and the avoidance of an outright call to conflict and the call for diplomacy if possible (Hobsbawm 364). One particular aspect of the World War that is instrumental in the advocacy of human rights, especially in the light of conflicts such as terrorism was the Nuremberg trials, which gave light to atrocities so terrifying that it made humanity question the value of human life (Darian-Smith 377).
For a while, countries united to reform a world that was utterly destroyed after a devastating world war, but even that dissolved as well. Huge powers like Russia and United States pitted against each other, and created factions which enforced concepts such as fervent nationalism to the point wherein other countries were regarded as ‘evil’ just because they have differing ideologies than ours. This way of thinking, unfortunately, paved the way to terrorism (365).
On the brighter side, it also gave the insight that countries can collaborate with each other in order to stop a common cause. One concrete example is the United Nations, a group in which one of the primary goals is to stop terrorist attacks from the nations that belong to it and to help countries work together for a common cause.
Terrorism, Society and Governance
Since it can be agreed that terrorism is one of the impending problems in our modern society, one of the best ways to counter it is to unite. A civil society means that its inhabitants can more or less coexist with each other and thus they can tolerate each other’s beliefs. For the modern society, terrorism is a challenge, but if we as a society refuse to disintegrate and question our beliefs due to terrorist attacks, then we have already won part of the battle—one of the terrorists’ goals is to undermine general morale, as mentioned earlier. Furthermore, a civil society can hope to attain peace more quickly, which can be achieved by effective governance which is built upon values of democracy and goodwill.
Conclusion
Global terrorism is a looming threat in the modern society, which is fueled by ideas from the past and propagated by values and concepts emanating from the holdovers of a postmodern era. In order to minimize, if not eliminate, this threat, we as a global community should work together by agreeing on a global standard of peace despite our differences. All in all, the threat of global terrorism can only be countered by a worldwide call to peace.
Works Cited
Darian-Smith, Eve. “Nuremberg’s Legacy (1945 – 49)”. Integrated Perspectives in Global Studies. Ed. Philip McCarthy. San Diego: Cognella Academic Publishing, 2011. 377 - 394. Print.
Devi, Mahaweti. “Drapaudi”. Integrated Perspectives in Global Studies. Ed. Philip McCarthy. San Diego: Cognella Academic Publishing, 2011. 438 – 459. Print.
Fanon, Frantz. “On Violence”. Integrated Perspectives in Global Studies. Ed. Philip McCarthy. San Diego: Cognella Academic Publishing, 2011. 427 – 435. Print.
Hobsbawm, Eric. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. Integrated Perspectives in Global Studies. Ed. Philip McCarthy. San Diego: Cognella Academic Publishing, 2011. 363 - 375. Print.
Khawala, Mahboob. “Terrorism Originates from the Western Colonial Powers”. Global Research. Global Research, 2 Apr 2011. Web. 27 July 2016.
“Measures Against Terrorism”. Gov.gg. Island of Guernsey, n.d. Web. 27 Jul 2016.
Memmi, Albert. “Decolonization and the Decolonized”. Canadian Journal of Sociology Online. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 2006. Web. 27 July 2016.
