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The concept of terrorism
The nature of global terrorism
The concept of terrorism
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Terrorism Evolving: A Sociology and Psychological Approach The nature of terrorism is to project fear and chaos throughout civilian populations. Terrorist groups are typically more mentally stable than most violent criminals and their actions are inspired through their beliefs in justification and necessity (Bartol & Bartol, 2014). Current efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) focus on technological methods to predict and prevent terrorist threats. Since the attack of 9/11 the FBI has switch from a reactive approach to a proactive intelligence motivated strategy approach (Comey, 2016). This paper aims to provide an understanding of why people join terrorist organizations, what the typical personalities of terrorist groups …show more content…
The goal of terrorist or terrorist organizations are to portray their message. A terrorist organization message can be religious, economic or political based but is still distributed through terrorizing the civilian population. The motives for joining a terrorist organization are not always the same as the leader who creates the organization. New recruits are normally isolated and alienated young individuals who may or may not agree with the leaders cause but want a sense of belonging due to lack of self-esteem (Hudson, 1999). Typically, individuals who join terrorist organizations are unemployed, have little education, have separated themselves from society or are motivated by common desires shared with the leader (Hudson, 1999). Psychological variables play a strong role in individuals deciding to join a terrorist organization. Individuals joining terrorist organizations show feelings of un-controlled rage, hopelessness and the belief that society leaves no other option to disseminate the change they want. Childhood experiences of neglect and antisocial behavior can also be factors in an individual being more susceptible to …show more content…
The social development or structure of a terrorist does not reveal dominant features of psychopathology from an outside perspective. The psychopathology of terrorism has been interpreted as ‘unconscious motives and impulses’ that stemmed in childhood (Borum, 2004). A better example would be reactive aggression described through aggressive expressions and vengeful hostility with lack of impulse control commonly developed within an individual’s childhood. Many children who are humiliated at a young age for their beliefs or interest advance into adult terrorist (Spencer, 2009). The underlining fundamental build of a terrorist or terrorist organization is best understood by analysis of their history. If the psychopathological role of a terrorist leader or organization is determined or understood then law enforcement will have proper information to predict future attacks. Social disorganization is the best way to describe motivation for terrorist actions. Thus, bringing the relation to terrorist being inspired through their beliefs in justification and necessity to incorporate change through public fear. The understanding of a terrorist’s psychopathology helps reveal the relevance in understanding a terrorist’s individual
What internally drives a terrorist’s motivation varies from subject to subject. While the average American citizen would likely be quick to point terrorists hate the western way of life and what it represents, the issue is far more complex. Simon Cottee’s article “What Motivates Terrorists?” (2015), looks at various levels of motivation. Prior definitions of terrorism looked at the defining cause as possibly psychological abnormalities within in the individual (Cottee, 2015). As studies have evolved, the focus has shifted to the environment in which the terrorist is surrounded. While certainly there is cases in which a person who is mentally unstable could be an ideal target for terrorist propaganda, the number of cases involving mental
Speckhard, A. (2013). The Boston Marathon Bombers: the Lethal Cocktail that Turned Troubled Youth to Terrorism. Perspectives On Terrorism, 7(3). Retrieved from http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/268/540
In the paper, Economic Conditions and the Quality of Suicide terrorism , the authors study the relationship between economic conditions with the characteristics of terrorists and the targets they attack. The poor economic conditions coupled with high unemployment in regions have enabled terrorist organizations to recruit individuals who are more educated, mature and experienced for their suicide attacks. This gives the terrorist organizations the ability to attack more important targets which are located closer to their district of residence. Nevertheless, he also shows that there is no correlation between the qualities of terror attacks and bad economic conditions but rather affect groups that provide excludable public goods by increasing their ability to commit terror attacks during difficul...
When a tragedy occurs, the first thing people turn to is their television. In an event such as a terrorist act, the first questions that arrive are responsibility, motive, influence, and all other aspects that could lead a person or a group to carry out such a horrific act of hate. The process of answering these questions is known as connecting the dots. Each individual aspect is put together to paint a picture revealing the full truth of what
Many young women who become extremists, and join ISIS find themselves to share the similar mediocre perspective and thinking. It is no secret that ISIS is a terrorist organization of extremists Jihads that believe in the distorted views of Islam. Through social media, and other live broadcast videos, brutal and violent crimes such as, “torture, executions, and mistreatment of prisoners, hostages and civilians” are displayed, and still young women are brainwashed and attracted to join ISIS. In Cassie Shortsleeve’s recent article about how the mind of an extremist works explores the power of social influence and how the effects are dangerous. According to Shortsleeve’s ISIS uses, “fear and obedience as the two common psychological traits to
It is therefore imperative that the fight against terrorism focuses on preventive rather than reactive strategies that involve understanding how terrorism works and what can be done to prevent terror attacks. One way of achieving this is through learning the psychology of terrorist group recruitment. Understanding this psychology is important as it will raise awareness to the general public to understand how terrorists are recruited and how they can avoid being recruited into terrorist organizations. In addition, anti-terrorist groups and policy experts may use this knowledge to develop interventions or policies that discourage and prevent terrorist group recruitment. This paper will focus on the psychology of terrorist group recruitment and the discussions will be summarized at the end.
More and more in the world today, circumstances have brought about changes in how members have used radical protesting. One way used to protest a situation is through terrorism, and the people who exercise violence in the pursuit of what they hold to be just causes are alternately known as terrorists. This movement, although viewed as barbaric, requires a person to view the needs and goals of a particular cause to be greater than that of the well being of others. There are certain characteristic traits that can be found in the majority of terrorism, which can identify a profile of a terrorist’s mind. A terrorist is not just an insane person, but also possibly a person that has been forced either by personal decision or by situations beyond control to choose an “insane” method to achieve an unachievable goal.
One of the most complex aspects of counterterrorism (CT) for the intelligence community (IC), law enforcement (LE), and CT communities is the psychology of terrorism. In the broad study of the psychology of terrorism, a highly misunderstood and challenging subject area is the recruitment of terrorists. A “normal,” rational person would wonder why an individual would pledge to commit acts of terror that would inflict lethal or grave danger upon innocent civilians for a politically educed cause. When in matter of fact, that rational person could also be susceptible to recruitment by a terrorist organization based upon any anti-political ideologies they may hold against their respected government. There are many reasons an individual may want to join a terrorist organization which includes aspects associated to an individuals psychology, ideology, theology, and state of mind. It also includes factors like an individuals religion, culture, morals, influences, integrity, and environment. More specifically terrorists go through a top-down or bottom-up process to enter the life of a terrorist and either have a strategic choice or psychological forces which make them susceptible to terrorism and recruitment. For IC, LE, and CT professionals the psychology of terrorist group recruitment is gravely important because it will allow them to identify indicators of individuals who are at a particular point in the recruitment process, who are already recruited, and who may also be planning attacks against U.S. assets, infrastructure, and personnel. Terrorism is a serious threat to national and homeland security and it all starts with a terrorist recruitment. If an individual is identified, exploited, or neutralized before ...
Despite numerous high-profile terrorist attacks that have been committed by individuals operating independently from terrorist groups, little attention has been given to explaining how these lone actor terrorists can emotionally perform violent acts against others. Recent studies of violence suggest that micro-level situational factors are essential in emotionally enabling violent action. Perhaps the most critical factor is enabling violence is situational emotional dominance. This dominance is most often established through several group dynamics that include an entrainment with the physical and emotional states of confederates, mutual monitoring (a form of peer pressure), as well as the role of emotionally supportive observers. Indeed, Collins highlights the
Terrorism has been significantly on the rise over the past several years, making it one of the major concerns for governments and security organizations. The identity of terrorists and the activities perpetrated by them have been associated with certain races, religious affiliations and other geographical parameters, with little concern to understand the development of these characteristics among humanity. Most individuals have classified terrorists as being members of specific races and hence developed fallacious theories that associate terrorism with genetic makeup and other mental problems.
The next category of terrorist is a group acting together in order to achieve their political or ideological agenda. These groups of people are often found living in oppressed conditions and are seeking extreme measures to bring about change. Such groups have been found in Georgia and Bosnia fighting over ethnic cleansing of a particular area after the Soviet Union disbanded (Wilkinson). Once a group looks at its neighbors and decides to improve its self-defense in order to...
... terrorists’ groups and networks and that have become a challenge for the intelligence agencies of the world. At present in numerous nations terrorists have made a state of lack of determination and repulsive fallings in the personalities of billions of individuals, particularly with the terrorist assaults of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon Building in the United States of America. The pure individuals keep on suffering wretchedness and restraint because of these barbaric demonstrations of terrorism. The merciless and explicit terrorism constraint both by people and at a few places the state supported terrorism acts against honest men, ladies and kids have few parallels in the archives of history. Because of these unlawful and repulsive acts, numerous spots of the world have gotten rotting bruises
In the past, it was common place for scholars to classify terrorist acts as pathological manifestations of an individual’s own psychological shortcomings.
Davis, Paul B. "The Terrorist Mentality." Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science 3.3 (2001): 22-23. The Dana Press. Web. 23 May 2011. .
The reasons behind terrorism vary according to living conditions, ethnicity, nationality and religion. The root cause of many attacks is poor governance. Governments’ corruption over a long period leads to injustice, economic and political instability, in which violence emerges as a solution. Through the existence of violence in societies as a part of the culture, the idea of using violence and consequently, terrorism, to end the chaos is implemented in some individuals’ minds. This idea is supported by Robert L. Feldman from the U.S. Foreign Military Studies Office, who wrote: “In the wake of these failing societies, first verbal dissent and then physical dissent, as expressed by acts of violence, can be found” (Feldman, 2009).