Terrorism: Terrorism And Terrorism

967 Words2 Pages

Terrorism in today’s society has shaped the way Americans live. Post 9/11 actions and policy decisions as a result of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as it pertains to securing the nation have been the focus modern American politics. From the creation of the Department of Homeland Security to the Patriot Act, terrorism has made its way into every American home. In an article written by Giorgio Amgaben, he claims that this overbearing sense of security in fact acts as a catalyst for the modern state to become a terrorist itself. In addition, that a modern state’s reactionary policies to terrorism have taken place over policies to prevent terrorism through diplomacy. In this paper I will describe a claim made in Agamben’s …show more content…

From this claim the author believes that a nation whose number one priority is security, may in fact, create policies that make the state a terrorist itself. Through this idea, Amgaben believes that nations should no longer look to the creation of reactionary policies, but rather preventative measures to stop terrorism before it happens. These claims shed light on the fact that many countries don’t prepare for terrorism. They merely react as a result of terrorist acts being carried out by organizations whose policies and ideologies misalign with that of the state. Furthermore, because of this misalignment, reactionary policies put into effect by nation states in fact make the state a terrorist. Instead of solving the problem, Amgaben believes these policies merely make the problem …show more content…

The problem of terrorism doesn’t lie in the failure to stop it diplomatically, but rather in a fight against ideology. In the case of America post-9/11, the American government faced a new enemy. That enemy was a radical ideology that waged war on the ideals and values of the American nation. Amgaben’s claim misperceives terrorism as a democratic political body in that these terrorist organizations will “sit at the table” to discuss their issues. When in reality, the modern day terrorist doesn’t care about diplomacy, but merely the destruction of the American ideals. As a result, the creation of protectionist policies in the United States isn’t creating a “terrorist-like” state, but rather a state preserved to the protection of its

Open Document