Abstract
Terrorism is violence at large. Terrorists are motivated to believe at all times that their actions are just and their struggle to instill fear is the only way to assert their demands. However, such singular behavior requires strong causes to be formed in the first place. There can be many causes for terrorism. Some these causes may be instantaneous while others may be historical, some beginning from a certain group of people while others targeted specifically towards a group of people. This paper is discusses various causes of terrorism
Keywords: Terrorism, causes, terrorists, rights
Causes of Terrorism
Introduction
Terrorism is any act that induces fear in people. Motives of creating terror may lie in political, religious or ideological beliefs (Hoffman, 1998). A Terrorist is an individual who causes an act of terror. But it is not the motive alone that makes terrorism one of the most dreaded acts of crime. It is mostly perpetrated against unarmed, non-combatant civilians with little or no chances to fight back an act of terror against them. When a full-fledged terror attack takes place successfully, the highest numbers of casualties turn out to be people who have no means to protect themselves from such acts and hence have very little chance of escaping from situations where they are attached by terrorists. All over the world terrorism is perceived in a different manner in different countries, as each region faces a different form of terrorism altogether. However, it is agreed all over the world that acts of terrorism in any form are unacceptable and hugely set back peace, harmony, growth and development of the affected region and its people. This paper is a discussion of the different factors that cause Terrorism and the significance of the psychological impact of terrorism on societies all over the world.
Discussion
Terrorism may be explained as any act of violence with the motive to instill fear and intimidation in the victims as well as the spectators (Rodin, 2006). There can be many motives each arising from different causes. Different parts of the world face different forms of terrorism, as each region has a different causative factor that gives rise Terrorists and Terrorism. However, the motive remains the same, to cause extensive psychological distress and fear amongst the people under attach. Research studies have shown that in almost all cases of people turning into terrorists the causes are multiple and the reasons inconclusive. However the main cause of terrorism lies in the fact that people whose social or religious sentiments have been hurt tend to believe that violence alone can win them their rights or their freedom. The following section discusses some of the social reasons that cause terrorism
Social Movements that Cause Terrorism
There are many social reasons that may lead an individual to take up terrorism to assert or display their point of view. One cause is perceived social and political injustice meted out to the individual or a group of individuals from influential sources. These sources may include political parties, religious strong holds, demographic majorities that may or may not have intended to have caused social, political or psychological wrong. Religious sentiments are one of the biggest causes of terrorism taking birth from social movements. Other causes may include discrimination meted out on the basis of racism, caste, creed etc. Such causes perpetrate the affected individuals or a group of individuals to take up a fight against the wrong that has been done to them. These causes may be historical or even based upon social practices that have been carried on for generations and may seem oppressive to the individual who wishes to take up terrorism as means to fight back.
Dramatic Movements that Cause Terrorism
At times Terrorism begins as a reaction to some previous act that sends a negative message to a certain group of individuals. These causes may include government policies that hurt religious or sociological sentiments of these groups. These causes may also include reaction to activities carried on individuals or groups of individuals that hurt the sentiments of other groups. Such activities may include public display of hatred, force majeure, etc. At times acts of terrorism may perpetrate subsequent incidents of terrorism in retaliation. Any dramatic sociologic change that causes resentment in specific groups may lead such groups to take up violence as a form of retaliation. Although dramatic movements may seem to be linked with historical causes, but terrorism that spawns from such movements are reactions to such specific movements and may or may not subside even when such movements may have ceased to operate.
Psychological Explanation of Terrorism
There can be many psychological explanations as to why individuals may turn to terrorism. The most important cause may be being misled into believing that they are working for a greater cause which has a lot more significance than human life itself (Nairn & James, 2005).. Its ultimate aim is to instill fear on the targeted people, who may or may not be directly be the receiver of the terrorist attack. Moreover, terrorists will always understand that violence is the ultimate way to make their statement to the people
Perception and Culture Disconnect
At times a common misperception of diverse ideologies may lead people to take up terror to drive their idea home. These causes include historical misconceptions that may have crept over time in between alienated communities. Such causes also occur in places where people of different cultural, ethnic and religious groups live together but do not communicate outside their respective groups. Such isolations may cause people of different groups to carry misperceptions for generations causing animosity between groups for reasons that may no longer be significant in the present scenario. Such misunderstandings cause people to take up terrorism as weapon to make their motives known far and wide. These motives may include asserting equal rights or superiority, or to assert control over others (Bonner, 1998).
Conclusion
There may be many reasons that may mislead individuals to believe that terrorism is the best way to assert their point of view to the people at large. However the motive of a terrorist is to perpetrate violence and instill fear in the victims as well as the spectators. One must not perceive acts of terrorism as a mere retaliation at a certain point of time but as a problem that may get carried on for generations, because an act of terrorism may lead to another act of terrorism in mere revenge to the predecessor. Whatever maybe the cause of a terrorist, they will always aim to extend extensive violence to drive their idea home. However, analyzing a localized incident alone may never yield answers to fight back terrorism. Causes at large need to be discovered, discussed and addressed to formulate a remedy to acts of terrorism. Although the task is simple to understand, yet it is hard to accomplish as causes of terrorism, the way in which it is carried out and the way it is dealt with will always vary from incident to incident and from place to place. Terrorism is an evil and humanity needs patience and compassion to deal with it. An eye for an eye will leave the world blind and countering violence with violence may never solve an issue at all.
References
Hoffman, B. (1998). Inside Terrorism. Columbia University Press. p. 32. ISBN 0-231-11468-0
Nairn, T, James, P. (2005). Global Matrix: Nationalism, Globalism and State-Terrorism. London and New York: Pluto Press.
Bonner, R. (1998) "Getting Attention: A scholar's historical and political survey of terrorism finds that it works". The New York Times: Books.
Rodin, D. (2006). Terrorism. In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge
