The multi-causal approach emphasizes the existence of psychological, economic, religious and sociological causal factors that contribute to terrorism. This approach believes that political violence i.e. ethnic. Ideological and religious conflicts represent the acutest causal factors. However, the multi-causal approach falls short of providing insight into the root causal factors of terrorism. Instead, it argues that terrorism stems from a collusion of all or some of the numerous causal factors. The lack of the specific identification of the root causal factors to terrorism makes this approach vague and less useful in comparison with other approach, which lay out specific factors that create the preconditions for terrorism.
On the other hand, the structural/political approach argues that the causal factors of terrorism may be found within the respective environmental context. Terrorists are born and bred, in environments that create the toxic conditions for terrorists and the supporting ideology/motivation to emerge. Left-wing scholars favoured this approach in the 1960s/1970s, and they argued that poverty, inequality and oppression as major causal factors. This is not least because relative social deprivation, political and economic triggers a sense injustice and frustration. These factors also point to similar factors identified under the multi-causal approach. In addition, the structural approach also identifies pre-conditions or issues that form a stage in the long -term, coupled by the mechanisms that trigger the actual terrorism.
The preconditions are further sub-divided into (a) permissive factors that create opportunities for terrorism to occur and (b) reasons/situations that directly inspire terror. Effectively, unlike the multi-causal approach, the structural approach tries to distinguish between the contextual atmosphere that creates the toxic conditions for terrorism to occur and the actual triggers.
Reference
COT Institute for Safety and Crisis Management. (2007). Exploring Root and Trigger Causes of Terrorism. Case study, Work package 3.
Pedahzur, A. (2006). Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom. New York: Routledge.
